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'}1CH EN_UST en_English_ltr Mon May 11 2026 09:25:06 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) tc
First Chronicles
1 The first person God created was Adam. Seth was Adam’s son. Enosh was Seth’s son. 2 Kenan was Enosh’s son. Mahalalel was Kenan’s son. Jared was Mahalalel’s son. 3 Enoch was Jared’s son. Methuselah was Enoch’s son. Lamech was Methuselah’s son. 4 Noah was Lamech’s son. Shem, Ham, and Japheth were Noah’s sons.
5 Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
6 Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
7 Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.
8 Ham’s sons were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
9 Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.
10 Another son of Cush was Nimrod. He was the first man who became a mighty warrior on the earth.
11 Egypt was the ancestor of the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, 12 Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim. The Philistines descended from the people of Casluhim.
13 Canaan’s first son was Sidon. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites, 14 the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 15 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 16 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
17 Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
18 Arpachshad was the father of Shelah. Shelah was the father of Eber.
19 Eber had two sons. He named his first son Peleg because during his lifetime, God divided the people of the earth into groups. The name of Peleg’s brother was Joktan.
20 Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan.
24 Arpachshad was Shem’s son. Shelah was Arpachshad’s son. 25 Eber was Shelah’s son. Peleg was Eber’s son. Reu was Peleg’s son. 26 Serug was Reu’s son. Nahor was Serug’s son. Terah was Nahor’s son. 27 Abram was Terah’s son. God later changed Abram’s name to Abraham.
28 Abraham’s sons were Isaac and Ishmael.
29 These were their descendants. Ishmael’s firstborn son was Nebaioth. His other sons were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,
31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. Ishmael had a total of 12 sons.
32 Abraham had a concubine whose name was Keturah. Her sons were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
Jokshan’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.
33 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah’s descendants.
34 Abraham’s son and heir was Isaac. Isaac’s sons were Esau and Jacob. God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel.
35 Esau’s sons were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
36 Eliphaz’s sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek.
37 Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
38 Another descendant of Esau was Seir. Seir’s sons were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
39 Lotan’s sons were Hori and Hemam, and Lotan’s sister was Timna.
40 Shobal’s sons were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
Zibeon’s sons were Aiah and Anah.
41 Anah’s son was Dishon.
Dishon’s sons were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.
42 Ezer’s sons were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
Dishan’s sons were Uz and Aran.
43 These are the kings who ruled the region of Edom (where Seir’s descendants lived) before any kings ruled over Israel:
The first king was Bela son of Beor. The name of his city was Dinhabah.
44 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah, from the city of Bozrah, became the next king.
45 When Jobab died, Husham became the next king. He was from the region where the Temanites lived.
46 When Husham died, Hadad, son of Bedad, became the next king. The name of his city was Avith. Hadad’s army defeated the Midianite army in the country of Moab.
47 When Hadad died, Samlah became the next king. He was from the city of Masrekah.
48 When Samlah died, Shaul became the next king. He was from the city of Rehoboth Hannahar.
49 When Shaul died, Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, became the next king.
50 When Baal Hanan died, Hadad became the next king. The name of his city was Pai. His wife’s name was Mehetabel. She was the daughter of Matred and the granddaughter of Mezahab.
51 After Hadad died, the Edomites had chiefs instead of kings.
Their names were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 52 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
53 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
54 Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.
2 The following are the sons of Israel (whose original name was Jacob): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
3 Judah’s sons were Er, Onan, and Shelah. Bath Shua, a Canaanite woman, was the mother of those three men. When Judah’s oldest son Er grew up, he did something that Yahweh considered very wicked. So Yahweh caused him to die. 4 Then Judah had twin boys whose names were Perez and Zerah. Their mother was Tamar, who had been married to Judah’s son Er. So altogether Judah had five sons.
5 Perez’s sons were Hezron and Hamul.
6 Zerah had five sons: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara.
7 Zimri’s son Carmi had a son whose name was Achan. He caused trouble for the Israelites by stealing some things that Yahweh had told them to destroy completely.
8 Ethan’s son was Azariah.
9 Hezron had three sons: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.
10 Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was a leader of the tribe of Judah.
11 Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz. 12 Boaz was the father of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse.
13 Jesse’s first son was Eliab. His second son was Abinadab. His third son was Shimea. 14 His fourth son was Nethanel. His fifth son was Raddai. 15 His sixth son was Ozem. His seventh son was David.
16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. 17 Abigail’s son was Amasa. Amasa’s father was Jether, who was a descendant of Ishmael.
18 Hezron’s son Caleb had children with Azubah, who was his full wife, and also with Jerioth. Azubah’s sons, who had inheritance rights, were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon.
19 When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath. She had a son whose name was Hur.
20 Hur was the father of Uri. Uri was the father of Bezalel.
21 Later, when Hezron was sixty years old, he married a daughter of Machir, who settled the region of Gilead. They had sexual relations, and she later gave birth to their son Segub. 22 Segub was the father of Jair. Jair controlled 23 cities in the region of Gilead.
23 The people who lived in those cities were descendants of Machir, who settled the region of Gilead. However, the Geshurite and Aramean armies defeated them and captured the villages of Jair, Kenath, and the nearby towns. They captured 60 towns altogether.
24 After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s widow, gave birth to Ashhur, who became the father of Tekoa.
25 Hezron’s oldest son was Jerahmeel. His sons were Ram (the oldest), Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife whose name was Atarah. She was the mother of Onam.
27 Jerahmeel’s oldest son Ram had three sons: Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
28 Onam’s sons were Shammai and Jada.
Shammai’s sons were Nadab and Abishur.
29 The name of Abishur’s wife was Abihail. Their sons were Ahban and Molid.
30 Nadab’s sons were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without having any sons.
31 Appaim’s son was Ishi. Ishi’s son was Sheshan. Sheshan’s son was Ahlai.
33 Jonathan’s sons were Peleth and Zaza.
These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.
34 Sheshan did not have any sons; he only had daughters. He had a servant from Egypt whose name was Jarha.
35 Sheshan arranged for his daughter to marry Jarha, his servant. She and Jarha had a son, Attai.
36 Attai was the father of Nathan.
Nathan was the father of Zabad.
37 Zabad was the father of Ephlal.
Ephlal was the father of Obed.
38 Obed was the father of Jehu.
Jehu was the father of Azariah.
39 Azariah was the father of Helez.
Helez was the father of Eleasah.
40 Eleasah was the father of Sismai.
Sismai was the father of Shallum.
41 Shallum was the father of Jekamiah.
Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.
42 The oldest son of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, was Mareshah. Mareshah was the father of Ziph. Ziph was the father of Mareshah. Mareshah was the father of Hebron. 43 Hebron’s sons were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 44 Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai.
45 Shammai’s son was Maon. Maon was the father of Beth Zur.
46 Caleb had a concubine whose name was Ephah. She was the mother of Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran had a son whom he named Gazez in honor of his brother.
47 Jahdai’s sons were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
48 Caleb had another concubine whose name was Maacah. She was the mother of Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She was also the mother of Shaaph and Sheva. Shaaph was the father of Madmannah. Sheva was the father of Machbenah and Gibea. Caleb also had a daughter, whose name was Achsah.
50-51 50-51The following people were also descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Caleb’s wife Ephrathah, were Shobal, Salma, and Hareph. Shobal started the city of Kiriath Jearim. Salma started the city of Bethlehem. Hareph started the city of Beth Gader. 52 The descendants of Shobal, who started the city of Kiriath Jearim, were Haroeh and half of the Menuhoth. 53 His descendants also included clans that lived in Kiriath Jearim, the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. The Zorathites and Eshtaolites came from these other clans.
54 Salma’s descendants were the people of Bethlehem, the clan of Netophath, the clan of Atroth Beth Joab, and the half of the Manahathites who were Zorites.
55 Some families who wrote and copied important documents lived in the town of Jabez. They included the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. They were all Kenites, descendants of Hammath, the ancestor of the Rechabites.
3 These are the sons David had while he was living in the city of Hebron.
His oldest son was Amnon. His mother was Ahinoam from the city of Jezreel.
His second son was Daniel. His mother was Abigail from the city of Carmel. 2 His third son was Absalom. His mother was Maacah, who was the daughter of Talmai, the king who ruled in the city of Geshur.
His fourth son was Adonijah. His mother was Haggith. 3 His fifth son was Shephatiah. His mother was Abital.
His sixth son was Ithream. David had him with his wife Eglah.
4 David had these six sons in Hebron, where he ruled for seven and one half years.
After that, David ruled in Jerusalem for thirty–three years. 5 These are the sons David had in Jerusalem.
Bath Shua, the daughter of Ammiel, gave birth to four of his sons: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon.
6 David’s other sons were Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, for a total of nine other sons.
9 In addition to all those sons, David had concubines who gave birth to sons. He also had a daughter whose name was Tamar.
10 These were the kings who succeeded David: Solomon’s son was Rehoboam.
Rehoboam’s son was Abijah.
Abijah’s son was Asa.
Asa’s son was Jehoshaphat.
11 Jehoshaphat’s son was Joram.
Joram’s son was Ahaziah.
Ahaziah’s son was Joash.
12 Joash’s son was Amaziah.
Amaziah’s son was Azariah.
Azariah’s son was Jotham.
13 Jotham’s son was Ahaz.
Ahaz’s son was Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s son was Manasseh.
14 Manasseh’s son was Amon.
Amon’s son was Josiah.
15 Josiah had four sons. The oldest was Johanan. The second was Jehoiakim. The third was Zedekiah. The fourth was Shallum.
16 The descendants of Jehoiakim included Jehoiakim’s son Jeconiah and Jeconiah’s son Zedekiah.
17 The Babylonians took Jeconiah into exile. His sons were Shealtiel, 18 Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
19 Pedaiah’s sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei.
Two of Zerubbabel’s sons were Meshullam and Hananiah. Their sister was Shelomith. 20 Zerubbabel’s five other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab Hesed.
21 Hananiah’s descendants were Pelatiah, Jeshaiah, and the descendants of Rephaiah, Arnan, Obadiah, and Shecaniah.
22 Shecaniah’s six descendants were Shemaiah and Shemaiah’s sons Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat.
23 Neariah’s three sons were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam.
24 Elioenai’s seven sons were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani.
4 Judah’s sons were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2 Shobal’s son was Reaiah. Reaiah was the father of Jahath, and Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. They were the ancestors of the Zorathites.
3 Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash started the clans that lived in the city of Etam. They had a sister whose name was Hazzelelponi. 4 Hur was the oldest son of Ephrathah. He founded the city of Bethlehem. Hur’s descendants were Penuel and Ezer. Penuel started the clans that lived in the city of Gedor. Ezer started the clans that lived in the city of Hushah.
5 Hezron’s son Ashhur was the father of Tekoa. He had two wives, whose names were Helah and Naarah.
6 Ashhur’s wife Naarah bore sons whose names were Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari.
7 The sons of Ashhur and his wife Helah were Zereth, Izhar, Ethnan, 8 and Koz. Koz was the father of Anub and Zobebah. He was also the ancestor of the clans who were descendants of Aharhel. Aharhel was the son of Harum.
9 People respected Jabez, another descendant of Judah, more than they respected his relatives. His mother named him Jabez which means “pain” because, she said, “I was enduring much pain when I gave birth to him.” 10 One day he prayed to the God whom Israelites worship. He said, “Please bless me greatly and give me more land. Please help me by your power and protect me from harm so that I will not suffer.” And God did what Jabez requested.
11 Chelub was the brother of Shuhah, another descendant of Judah. Chelub was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah started the city of Nahash, and these families lived in the area of Recah.
13-15 13-15Caleb was the son of Jephunneh, another descendant of Judah. Caleb’s sons were Iru, Elah, and Naam. Elah’s son was Kenaz. The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah.
Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.
Seraiah was the father of Joab. Joab was the ancestor of the people who lived in Craftsmen’s Valley. People gave the valley that name because many of the ones who lived there were craftsmen. 16 The sons of Jehallelel, another descendant of Judah, were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17-18 17-18The sons of Ezrah, another descendant of Judah, were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered married Bithiah, who was the daughter of the king of Egypt. The children of Mered and Bithiah were Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah. Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa. Mered had a wife from Judah. She gave birth to Jered, Heber, and Jekuthiel. Jered was the father of Gedor. Heber was the father of Soco. Jekuthiel was the father of Zanoah. 19 Hodiah’s wife, who was Naham’s sister, had two sons. One of them was the father of Keilah the Garmite. The other son was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
20 The sons of Shimon, another descendant of Judah, were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben Hanan, and Tilon.
The sons of Ishi, another descendant of Judah, were Zoheth and Ben Zoheth.
21 One of Judah’s sons was Shelah. Shelah’s sons included Er and Laadah. Er was the father of Lecah. Laadah was the father of Mareshah and the ancestor of the families who made linen clothing at Beth Ashbea. 22 Another son of Shelah was Jokim. Shelah’s descendants also included the people who lived in the city of Cozeba. Two other sons of Shelah were Joash and Saraph. They ruled the regions of Moab and Jashubi Lehem. This information comes from ancient records. 23 Some of these descendants of Shelah made pottery and lived in the cities of Netaim and Gederah, where they worked for the king.
24 Simeon’s sons were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul.
25 Shaul’s son was Shallum. Shallum’s son was Mibsam. Mibsam’s son was Mishma.
26 Mishma’s son was Hammuel. Hammuel’s son was Zaccur. Zaccur’s son was Shimei.
27 Shimei had 16 sons and 6 daughters, but his brothers did not have many children. So his descendants were not as many as the descendants of Judah. 28 They lived in these cities and towns: Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and Shaaraim. They lived in those places right up to the time when David became king. 32 They also lived in five towns: Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan. 33 They also lived in villages that were near those towns, as far southwest as the city of Baal. Those were the places where they lived, and they wrote down the names of their family members.
34-38 34-38These are the names of the leaders of their clans: Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, Joel, and Jehu son of Joshibiah. Joshibiah was the son of Seraiah and the grandson of Asiel. Other clan leaders were Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, and Ziza. Ziza was the son of Shiphi. Shiphi was the son of Allon. Allon was the son of Jedaiah. Jedaiah was the son of Shimri. Shimri was the son of Shemaiah.
These families became very large. 39 They went to the east side of the valley near the city of Gedor to look for pastures for their sheep. 40 They found good pastureland with plenty of grass. The place was large, peaceful, and quiet.
That was because some descendants of Noah’s son Ham were already living there. 41 But while Hezekiah was the king of Judah, the men whose names are on this list came and destroyed their settlements. They also fought against the Meunites who were living there. They killed all those people, so they have no descendants living there now. Those descendants of Simeon started living there instead because there were good pastures there for their sheep.
42 Also, 500 men from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir in Edom. Their leaders were Ishi’s four sons: Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel. 43 They killed the Amalekites who had survived and escaped from King Saul. Descendants of Simeon have lived in that region ever since.
5 These are the descendants of Reuben, who was the first son whom Israel had. This genealogy does not list his descendants first, even though he was the firstborn, because his father gave the rights of a firstborn son to another of his sons, Joseph, and to his descendants. He did that because Reuben has sexual relations with one of his secondary wives. 2 This genealogy lists Judah first because the tribe of Judah became the largest and because David, who became the king of Israel, was from Judah. But the rights of a firstborn son still belonged to Joseph. 3 So these are the descendants of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son.
His sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 Joel, another descendant of Reuben, had a son whose name was Shemaiah. Shemaiah’s son was Gog. Gog’s son was Shimei. 5 Shimei’s son was Micah. Micah’s son was Reaiah. Reaiah’s son was Baal. 6 Baal’s son was Beerah. Beerah was a leader of the tribe of Reuben. But Tiglath Pileser, king of Assyria, captured him and took him to Assyria.
7 The records of the tribe of Reuben list these men as leaders of their clans: Jeiel, Zechariah, 8 and Bela, who was the son of Azaz, the grandson of Shema, and the great-grandson of Joel. The people of the tribe of Reuben lived near the city of Aroer and as far north as the city of Nebo and the city of Baal Meon. 9 Some of them lived farther to the east, as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River. They moved there because they needed more pastureland than was available in the region of Gilead.
10 When Saul was king of Israel, men from the tribe of Reuben fought against the Hagrites and defeated them. After that, they lived in the places where the Hagrites had lived throughout the eastern part of Gilead.
11 The tribe of Gad lived near the tribe of Reuben in the region of Bashan, all the way east to the city of Salecah. 12 Joel was their leader. Shapham was the next most important leader. Their other leaders in Bashan were Janai and Shaphat.
13 Other members of the tribe belonged to the seven clans of Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber.
14 They were descendants of Abihail. Abihail was the son of Huri. Huri was the son of Jaroah. Jaroah was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Michael. Michael was the son of Jeshishai. Jeshishai was the son of Jahdo. Jahdo was the son of Buz.
15 Ahi was the son of Abdiel. Abdiel was the son of Guni. Ahi was the leader of their clan.
16 The descendants of Gad lived in the towns in the regions of Gilead and Bashan and on the pastureland throughout the whole Plain of Sharon. 17 Scribes wrote down their names during the time when Jotham was the king of Judah and Jeroboam was the king of Israel.
18 There were 44,760 men in the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh who were good soldiers. They had learned how to fight well in battles, so they could use shields, swords, and bows and arrows effectively. They were a strong army. 19 They attacked the Hagrites and the people of the cities of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 During the battle, the men from those three tribes cried out to God for help. So, because they trusted in him, God did what they asked and enabled them to defeat the Hagrites and their allies. 21 They captured their animals, including 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys. They also captured 100,000 people. 22 But because God was helping them win the battle, they also killed many of the Hagrites and their allies. After that, people from those three tribes lived in that area until the Assyrians exiled them.
23 Many people from half of the tribe of Manasseh lived in the region of Bashan. They settled as far north as Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon.
24 Their clan leaders were Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. These men were great soldiers who became famous, in addition to being leaders of their clans. 25 But they sinned against the God whom their ancestors had worshiped. But they betrayed him by worshiping the gods that the people of that region had worshiped, even though God had enabled them to destroy those people. 26 So the God whom the Israelites worshiped made Pul, the king of Assyria, want to conquer those tribes. Pul’s other name was Tiglath Pileser. His army captured the people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. They took them to various places in Assyria: Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River. They are still living in those places.
6 Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
2 Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
3 Amram’s children were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.
Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
4 Eleazar was the father of Phinehas.
Phinehas was the father of Abishua.
5 Abishua was the father of Bukki.
Bukki was the father of Uzzi.
6 Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah.
Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth.
7 Meraioth was the father of Amariah.
Amariah was the father of Ahitub.
8 Ahitub was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz.
9 Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah.
Azariah was the father of Johanan.
10 Johanan was the father of Azariah. Azariah was a priest in the temple that Solomon had his workers build in Jerusalem.
11 Azariah was the father of Amariah.
Amariah was the father of Ahitub.
12 Ahitub was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Shallum.
13 Shallum was the father of Hilkiah.
Hilkiah was the father of Azariah.
14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah.
Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak. 15 When Yahweh allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take away the people of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehozadak went into exile with them.
16 Levi’s sons were Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
17 The names of Gershom’s sons were Libni and Shimei.
18 Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.
Here is a list of the descendants of Levi, who became leaders of their clans.
20 Gershom’s oldest son was Libni.
Libni’s son was Jahath.
Jahath’s son was Zimmah.
21 Zimmah’s son was Joah.
Joah’s son was Iddo.
Iddo’s son was Zerah.
Zerah’s son was Jeatherai.
22 Another descendant of Kohath was Amminadab.
Amminadab’s son was Korah.
Korah’s son was Assir.
23 Assir’s son was Elkanah.
Elkanah’s son was Ebiasaph.
Ebiasaph’s son was Assir.
24 Assir’s son was Tahath.
Tahath’s son was Uriel.
Uriel’s son was Uzziah.
Uzziah’s son was Shaul.
25 Elkanah’s sons were Amasai, Ahimoth,
26 and Elkanah (who had the same name as his father).
This Elkanah’s son was Zophai.
Zophai’s son was Nahath.
27 Nahath’s son was Eliab.
Eliab’s son was Jeroham.
Jeroham’s son was Elkanah.
28 Samuel had two sons: his oldest son was (Joel) and his other son was Abijah.
29 Merari’s descendants started with Mahli.
Mahli’s son was Libni.
Libni’s son was Shimei.
Shimei’s son was Uzzah.
30 Uzzah’s son was Shimea.
Shimea’s son was Haggiah.
Haggiah’s son was Asaiah.
31 After he brought the sacred chest to Yahweh’s sanctuary, David appointed these men to lead the music there. 32 Those men led the music at the sacred tent, which people also called the Tent of Meeting. They did that until Solomon built a temple for Yahweh in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to their instructions.
33 Here is a list of the musicians. (Their sons worked with them.)
From Kohath’s descendants, there was Heman, the leader of the singers.
Heman was Joel’s son.
Joel was Samuel’s son.
34 Samuel was Elkanah’s son.
Elkanah was Jeroham’s son.
Jeroham was Eliel’s son.
Eliel was Toah’s son.
35 Toah was Zuph’s son.
Zuph was Elkanah’s son.
Elkanah was Mahath’s son.
Mahath was Amasai’s son.
36 Amasai was Elkanah’s son.
Elkanah was Joel’s son.
Joel was Azariah’s son.
Azariah was Zephaniah’s son.
37 Zephaniah was Tahath’s son.
Tahath was Assir’s son.
Assir was Ebiasaph’s son.
Ebiasaph was Korah’s son.
38 Korah was Izhar’s son.
Izhar was Kohath’s son.
Kohath was Levi’s son.
Levi was the son of Israel.
39 Heman’s relative Asaph worked closely with him.
Asaph was Berechiah’s son. Berechiah
was Shimea’s son.
40 Shimea was Michael’s son.
Michael was Baaseiah’s son.
Baaseiah was Malchijah’s son.
41 Malchijah was Ethni’s son.
Ethni was Zerah’s son.
Zerah was Adaiah’s son.
42 Adaiah was Ethan’s son.
Ethan was Zimmah’s son.
Zimmah was Shimei’s son.
43 Shimei was Jahath’s son.
Jahath was Gershom’s son. Gershom
was Levi’s son.
44 A group of Levites from the clan of Merari worked together with Heman and Asaph. Their leader was Ethan.
Ethan was Kishi’s son.
Kishi was Abdi’s son.
Abdi was Malluch’s son.
45 Malluch was Hashabiah’s son.
Hashabiah was Amaziah’s son. Amaziah
was Hilkiah’s son.
46 Hilkiah was Amzi’s son.
Amzi was Bani’s son.
Bani was Shemer’s son.
47 Shemer was Mahli’s son.
Mahli was Mushi’s son.
Mushi was Merari’s son.
Merari was Levi’s son.
48 David appointed the other descendants of Levi to do other work in the sacred tent, the place where the people worshiped God.
49 But only the descendants of Aaron could make offerings on the altar for burnt sacrifices and the altar for incense. They performed all the duties in the Most Holy Place. They offered sacrifices to ask Yahweh to forgive the sins of the Israelites. They followed the instructions that Moses, God’s servant, had given.
50 These were the descendants of Aaron:
Aaron’s son was Eleazar.
Eleazar’s son was Phinehas.
Phinehas’s son was Abishua.
51 Abishua’s son was Bukki.
Bukki’s son was Uzzi.
Uzzi’s son was Zerahiah.
52 Zerahiah’s son was Meraioth.
Meraioth’s son was Amariah.
Amariah’s son was Ahitub.
53 Ahitub’s son was Zadok,
and Zadok’s son was Ahimaaz.
54 The descendants of Aaron belonged to the clan of Kohath. The Israelites assigned land to them by lot first. Here is a list of the places where they lived.
55 They received the city of Hebron in Judah and the pastureland around the city, 56 but Caleb received the fields farther from the city and the villages near the city. Caleb was Jephunneh’s son.
57 Hebron, which the Israelites gave to the descendants of Aaron, was one of the cities to which people could flee if they accidentally killed a person. The Israelites also gave Aaron’s descendants these cities with their surrounding fields: Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, 58 Hilen, Debir, 59 Ashan, and Beth Shemesh. 60 They also received from the tribe of Benjamin the cities of Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth and the surrounding fields.
Altogether, these descendants of Aaron received 13 cities.
61 The other descendants of Kohath, the members of that clan of the tribe of Levi who were not priests, received ten cities by lot in the western half of the territory of the tribe of Manasseh.
62 The clans of the descendants of Gershom received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lived in the region of Bashan on the east side of the Jordan River.
63 The clans of the descendants of Merari received 12 cities by lot from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
64 The leaders of Israel allotted those towns and the surrounding field to the descendants of Levi. 65 They also allotted to them the cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin whose names appear earlier in this list.
66 Some of the descendants of Kohath received cities in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim.
67 They received Shechem and the surrounding fields in the hilly area where the people of Ephraim lived. That was one of the cities to which people could flee if they accidentally killed a person. They also received these cities and the surrounding fields: Gezer, 68 Jokmeam, Beth Horon, 69 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon.
70 The other descendants of Kohath received the cities of Aner and Bileam and the surrounding fields. They were in the western half of the territory of the tribe of Manasseh.
71 The descendants of Gershom received two cities and the surrounding fields: Golan, in the region of Bashan, and Ashtaroth. Those cities were in the eastern half of the territory of the tribe of Manasseh.
72 From the tribe of Issachar, they received these cities and the surrounding fields: Kedesh, Daberath, 73 Ramoth, and Anem.
74 From the tribe of Asher, they received these cities and the surrounding fields: Mashal, Abdon, 75 Hukok, and Rehob.
76 From the tribe of Naphtali, they received these cities and the surrounding fields: Kedesh in the region of Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim.
77 The remaining descendants of Levi were the descendants of Merari. They received these cities and the surrounding fields in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono and Tabor.
78-79 78-79They also received these cities and the surrounding fields in the territory of the tribe of Reuben on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho: Bezer in the wilderness, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath. 80 From the tribe of Gad, they received these cities and the surrounding fields: Ramoth in the region of Gilead, Mahanaim, 81 Heshbon, and Jazer.
7 Issachar’s four sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
2 Tola’s sons were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. They were leaders of the clan of Tola.
The records of the tribe of Issachar list the names of 22,600 great soldiers in that clan at the time when David was the king of Israel.
3 Uzzi’s son was Izrahiah. Izrahiah’s sons were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. Izrahiah and his sons were all leaders of their clan.
4 In addition to them, the records of the tribe of Issachar list 36,000 men in that clan who were soldiers in the army and fought battles. The number was so large because they had many wives and children.
5 Their kinsmen in the other clans of the tribe of Issachar included more great soldiers. The records about that tribe list 87,000 of those men.
6 The three sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael.
7 Bela’s five sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were leaders of clans.
The records of the tribe of Benjamin list 22,034 great soldiers from that clan.
8 Becher’s sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All those men were his sons.
9 The records of the tribe of Benjamin list them as clan leaders. They also list 20,200 men of the clan who were great soldiers.
10 Jediael’s son was Bilhan. Bilhan’s sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar.
11 Those sons of Jediael were all clan leaders.
The clan had 17,200 men who were great soldiers and who would go out to fight battles.
12 Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of a man whose name was Ir.
Hushim was the son of a man whose name was Aher.
13 Naphtali was the son of Jacob’s secondary wife Bilhah. Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum.
14 Manasseh had a concubine who was from Aram. She gave birth to Asriel and Machir.
Machir was the father of Gilead.
15 Machir had a wife who was from the clans of Huppim and Shuppim. Machir’s sister’s name was Maacah.
The name of Machir’s second son was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had only daughters.
16 The name of Machir’s wife was also Maacah. She gave birth to sons whom she named Peresh and Sheresh. Sheresh’s sons were Ulam and Rakem.
17 Ulam’s son was Bedan.
Those were the descendants of Gilead, the son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh.
18 Gilead’s sister was Hammolecheth. She was the mother of Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 Another son of Gilead was Shemida, whose sons were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
20 These are the descendants of Ephraim.
Shuthelah was his son.
Shuthelah’s son was Bered.
Bered’s son was Tahath.
Tahath’s son was Eleadah.
Eleadah had a son whom he also named Tahath.
21 Tahath’s son was Zabad.
Zabad’s son was Shuthelah.
Ephraim’s other sons, Ezer and Elead, went to the city of Gath to steal some cattle. But men from that city, natives of that area, killed them. 22 Their father Ephraim grieved for them for a long time. His relatives came to comfort him.
23 Then he had sexual relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah, which sounds like the word for “trouble,” because of the trouble that his family had experienced. 24 Ephraim’s daughter was Sheerah. Her workers built three towns: Lower Beth Horon, Upper Beth Horon, and Uzzen Sheerah.
25 Another son of Ephraim was Rephah.
Rephah’s son was Resheph.
Resheph’s son was Telah.
Telah’s son was Tahan.
26 Tahan’s son was Ladan.
Ladan’s son was Ammihud.
Ammihud’s son was Elishama.
27 Elishama’s son was Non.
Non’s son was Joshua, the man who led the Israelites after Moses died.
28 This is a list of the properties and settlements of the descendants of Ephraim:
Bethel and its nearby villages,
east of there, Naaran;
west of there, Gezer and its nearby villages
and Shechem and its nearby villages.
Their settlements extended north as far as Ayyah and its nearby villages.
29 Ephraim’s grandfather Israel gave him the rights of the firstborn son of Joseph. His descendants also lived in some cities on the border of the territory of the tribe of Manasseh: Beth Shean, Taanach, Megiddo, Dor, and their nearby villages.
30 Asher’s sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.
31 Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel.
Malchiel was the father of Birzaith.
32 Heber was the father of Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. Shua was their sister.
33 Japhlet’s sons were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s children.
34 Shemer’s sons were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.
35 Shomer’s younger brother was Helem. Helem’s sons were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
36 Zophah’s sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera.
38 Jether’s sons were Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara.
39 Another descendant of Asher was Ulla, whose sons were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
40 All those men were descendants of Asher. They were all leaders of their clans. They were capable, great soldiers and chief leaders. The records of the tribe of Asher list 26,000 men who were in the army and fought battles.
8 Benjamin’s oldest son was Bela. His second son was Ashbel. His third son was Aharah. 2 His fourth son was Nohah. His fifth son was Rapha.
3 Bela’s sons were Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.
6 The descendants of Gera’s son Ehud were leaders of their clans who lived in the city of Geba. However, others forced them to move to the city of Manahath. 7 Ehud’s sons were Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera.
Gera was the one who led them when they moved to Manahath. Gera was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.
8-11 8-11Shaharaim, another descendant of Benjamin, had two wives, Hushim and Baara. He divorced them and moved to the land of Moab. He had children there. He married a woman whose name was Hodesh, and they had these sons: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. Those men became leaders of their clans. Earlier, Shaharaim had two sons with his wife Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal.12-13 12-13Elpaal’s sons were Eber, Misham, and Shemed. Shemed built the cities of Ono and Lod and their nearby villages. Beriah and Shema, two other sons of Elpaal, were leaders of their clans, which lived in the city of Aijalon. They forced the people of Gath to leave that city.14-16 14-16Beriah’s sons were Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, and Joha.17-18 17-18Other descendants of Elpaal were another man whose name was Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber,
Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab.19-21 19-21The sons of Shimei, another descendant of Benjamin, were Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath.22-25 22-25Shashak’s sons were Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, Iphdeiah, and Penuel.26-27 26-27The sons of Jeroham, another descendant of Benjamin, were Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri. 28 The records of the tribe of Benjamin list these men as leaders of their clans. They lived in Jerusalem.
29 Jeiel, another descendant of Benjamin, was the father of Gibeon. He lived in the city of Gibeon. The name of his wife was Maacah. 30 His oldest son was Abdon. His other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, and Zecher.
32 Mikloth, another of Jeiel’s sons, was the father of Shimeah. These descendants of Jeiel also lived in Jerusalem, near their relatives.
33 Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul.
Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchi Shua, Abinadab, and Esh Baal.
34 Jonathan’s son was Merib Baal.
Merib Baal was the father of Micah.
35 Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.
36 Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah.
Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri.
Zimri was the father of Moza.
37 Moza was the father of Binea.
Raphah was Binea’s son.
Eleasah was Raphah’s son.
Azel was Eleasah’s son.
38 Azel had six sons. Their names were Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were all of Azel’s sons.
39 Azel had a brother, Eshek.
Eshek had three sons: first Ulam, then Jeush, and then Eliphelet.
40 Ulam’s descendants were men who were great soldiers and skillful archers. He had many sons and grandsons—150 of them.
All these were descendants of Benjamin.
9 The record that scribes wrote for the kings of Israel lists the names of all these Israelites.
Because the people of Judah disobeyed Yahweh, he allowed the Babylonians to take them away. 2 The first Israelites to live on their property in their cities again were some priests, Levites, and temple workers.
3 Other people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh also returned to Judah and lived in Jerusalem, including
4 Uthai son of Ammihud. Ammihud was Omri’s son, Omri was Imri’s son, Imri was Bani’s son, Bani was a descendant of Perez, and Perez was Judah’s son.
5 Asaiah and his sons also returned. They were descendants of Shilon. Asaiah was the oldest son in his family.
6 Some descendants of Zerah also returned, including Jeuel and 690 of his relatives.
7 Sallu from the tribe of Benjamin also returned. He was Meshullam’s son, Meshullam was Hodaviah’s son, and Hodaviah was Hassenuah’s son.
8 Others who returned included Ibneiah, Jeroham’s son;
Elah, the son of Uzzi and grandson of Michri;
and Meshullam, the son of Shephatiah, the grandson of Reuel and the great-grandson of Ibnijah.
9 These men were all clan leaders in their tribe. The records of the tribe of Benjamin list 956 people who returned.
10 Some of the priests who returned to Judah were
Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin.
11 Another priest who returned was Azariah. He became the leader of the priests at the temple. Azariah was Hilkiah’s son,
Hilkiah was Meshullam’s son,
Meshullam was Zadok’s son,
Zadok was Meraioth’s son,
and Meraioth was Ahitub’s son.
12 Another important priest was Adaiah. He was Jeroham’s son,
Jeroham was Pashhur’s son,
and Pashhur was Malchijah’s son.
Another important priest was Maasai. He was Adiel’s son,
Adiel was Jahzerah’s son,
Jahzerah was Meshullam’s son,
Meshullam was Meshillemith’s son, and
Meshillemith was Immer’s son.
13 These men were leaders of their clans. They were among 1,760 priests who returned to Judah. They were all capable of doing the work that supported the worship in the temple.
14 An important Levite who returned to Judah was Shemaiah. He was Hasshub’s son,
Hasshub was Azrikam’s son,
Azrikam was Hashabiah’s son,
and Hashabiah was a descendant of Levi’s youngest son Merari.
15 Other important Levites were Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, Mattaniah (the son of Mica,
the grandson of Zichri,
and the great-grandson of Asaph),
16 Obadiah (the son of Shemaiah,
the grandson of Galal,
and the great-grandson of Jeduthun), and
Berechiah (the son of Asa
and the grandson of Elkanah).
He lived in one of the villages of the Netophathites.
17 The Levite gatekeepers who returned included Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and many of their relatives. Shallum was their leader. 18 While they were on duty, those gatekeepers from the tribe of Levi stayed in temporary quarters near the King’s Gate on the east side of the temple courtyard. They still do that now.
19 Shallum was Kore’s son,
Kore was Ebiasaph’s son,
Ebiasaph was Korah’s son.
He and the other Levites in the Korahite clan had the duty of being gatekeepers. They guarded the entrances to Yahweh’s temple, just as their ancestors had guarded the entrances of the sacred tent.
20 Back then, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, had supervised the gatekeepers, and Yahweh had helped Phinehas.
21 Zechariah (Meshelemiah’s son) was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the temple.
22 The list of people who returned to Judah includes the names of 212 men whose duty it was to guard the entrances. The list tells what villages they lived in when they were not on duty. They belonged to the clans that King David and the prophet Samuel had appointed to do this important work. 23 They had appointed the Levites of those clans and their descendants first to guard the entrances of the sacred tent and later of Yahweh’s temple. 24 There were gatekeepers on the four sides of the temple, toward the north, south, east, and west. 25 The Levites from these clans would take turns coming from their villages for a week at a time to guard the temple entrances. 26 But four Levites, Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman, stayed in Jerusalem because they supervised the gatekeepers. They were also responsible for the storerooms and other rooms in the temple of God. 27 They lived in the temple area because their job was to guard it. Each morning they opened the gates.
28 Some of the Levites took care of the items that the priests used in the temple courtyard. They counted the ones that they brought in each day, and they made sure that they brought them all back at the end of the day. 29 Other Levites took care of the bowls and tools that the priests used in the temple building. Levites were also responsible for the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices that the priests used when they offered sacrifices. 30 But it was certain priests who were responsible for making ointment from the spices. 31 There was a Levite from the Korahite clan whose name was Mattithiah. He was the oldest son of Shallum. His official duty was to bake the bread that the priests used for offerings on the altar. 32 Some of the other Levites from the Kohathite clan baked the loaves of bread that the priests put in rows on a table inside the temple on each Sabbath day.
33 Some of the Levites were musicians. The leaders of their clans stayed in rooms in the temple. They did not do any other work, because the groups of musicians they supervised sang in the temple throughout the day and night.
34 The records list the names of these Levite clan leaders. They all lived in Jerusalem.
35 Jeiel, another descendant of Benjamin, lived in the city of Gibeon. He was the father of Gibeon. The name of his wife was Maacah.
36 His oldest son was Abdon.
His other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth.
38 Mikloth, another of Jeiel’s sons, was the father of Shimeah. These descendants of Jeiel also lived in Jerusalem, near their relatives.
39 Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul.
Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchi Shua, Abinadab, and Esh Baal.
40 Jonathan’s son was Merib Baal. Merib Baal was the father of Micah.
41 Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, and Tahrea.
42 Ahaz was the father of Jarah.
Jarah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri.
Zimri was the father of Moza. 43 Moza was the father of Binea.
Rephaiah was Binea’s son. Eleasah was Rephaiah’s son. Azel was Eleasah’s son.
44 Azel had six sons. Their names were Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were all Azel’s sons.
10 The Philistine army was fighting against the Israelite army. The Israelites ran away from them to Mount Gilboa. But the Philistines killed many of them there. 2 The Philistines chased after Saul and the three of his sons who were fighting with him. They killed all three of them, Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi Shua. 3 The fighting became very fierce around Saul. The Philistine archers realized that he was the king of Israel, so they aimed many arrows at him and wounded him badly.
4 Saul told the man who was carrying his weapons, “Take out your sword and kill me with it! That way these pagan Philistines will not come and kill me slowly and make fun of me while I am dying.” But the man who was carrying Saul’s weapons was too afraid to do that. So Saul took out his own sword and threw himself on it, and that killed him.
5 When the man carrying his weapons saw that Saul had died, he also threw himself on his own sword. He died next to Saul. 6 So Saul and three of his sons who could have been king after him all died.
7 The Israelite people who lived in the area north of the Valley of Jezreel learned that the Israelite army had run away and that Saul and his sons had died. They knew that no one would now defend them from the Philistines, so they left their homes and ran away. Then the Philistines came and occupied the cities and towns in that area.
8 The day after the battle, the Philistine soldiers returned to take the weapons, armor, and clothing from the Israelite soldiers whom they had killed. They found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa. 9 They took off Saul’s armor, and they cut off his head and took it away with his weapons. Then they sent messengers throughout their land to proclaim the news of their victory in the temples where they worshiped their idols and publicly among the people. 10 They put Saul’s weapons in the temple of their gods. They also hung his head on the wall of the temple of Dagon.
11 The people of the city of Jabesh in the region of Gilead learned what the Philistines had done to Saul. 12 All their bravest soldiers marched to Beth Shan, where the Philistines had displayed the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought their bodies back to Jabesh and burned them there. Then they took the bones and buried them under a great oak tree in Jabesh. Then, to show how sad they were, they ate very little food for seven days.
13 Saul died because he did not obey Yahweh. Yahweh told him to do something, but he did not do it. Also, when Saul wanted to know what to do, he went to a woman who tried to talk to the spirits of dead people. 14 Instead, he should have asked Yahweh what to do. So Yahweh caused him to die, and he appointed David son of Jesse to be the next king of Israel.
11 Then the leaders of the Israelites met with David at Hebron. They told him, “Listen, even though we belong to different tribes, we are all Israelites. 2 Previously, even though Saul was our king, you were the one who led our soldiers into battle. Yahweh our God promised you, ‘You will take care of my Israelite people. You will be their king.’ ”
3 Then the elders of the people of Israel came to David at Hebron to make him their king. David made an agreement with them at Hebron with Yahweh as their witness. The elders poured olive oil on David’s head to show that he was now the king of Israel. That was just what Yahweh had told Samuel to say would happen.
4 Then David led the Israelite soldiers to Jerusalem. People also called that city Jebus because the Jebusites lived there. They were one of the groups that lived in the land before the Israelites arrived. 5 The people who lived in Jebus called out mockingly to David, “You will never enter this city!” But David’s army did capture the fortress on Mount Zion. Later people called it the City of David.
6 David told his soldiers, “Whoever leads our soldiers to defeat the people of Jebus will become the commander of my army.” Joab son of Zeruiah led the soldiers, so he became the commander.
7 David moved into the fortress. That is why people call it the City of David. 8 David had workers build more buildings in the area between the fortress and the Millo. Joab’s men repaired the other parts of the city. 9 David continued to become more and more powerful because Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, was helping him.
10 Here is a description of David’s greatest warriors. When the Israelites made him their king, just as Yahweh had said would happen, they helped make sure that he was a strong and secure king. 11 These are the names of David’s greatest warriors.
Jashobeam the Hachmonite was the leader of the three most powerful warriors. In one battle, he fought against 300 enemy soldiers and killed them all.
12 There was also Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. He too was one of David’s three most powerful warriors. 13 Once the Philistine army invaded Israel and formed their battle lines at Pas Dammim. There was a field of ripe barley there that they wanted to steal. Eleazar came with David to fight them, but the Philistines were winning the battle, so the other Israelite soldiers retreated. 14 But Eleazar stood with David in the middle of the field and defended it by killing many Philistine soldiers. Yahweh enabled them to win a great victory.
15 At the time when David was staying in the cave of Adullam, three other men who were among his 30 greatest warriors came to help him. A group of Philistine soldiers had set up their tents in the Valley of the Raphaites. 16 David was staying in the cave because it was safe there, and another group of Philistine soldiers was occupying his home town of Bethlehem. 17 One day David felt very thirsty. He said, “If only someone would bring me some water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 18 So these three of his greatest warriors fought their way through the camp of Philistine soldiers at Bethlehem. They drew some water from the well there and carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out on the ground as an offering to Yahweh. 19 He said, “God would certainly not want me to drink this water! That would be like drinking the blood of these men who were willing to die to get it for me!” So he refused to drink it. That was something those three great warriors did.
20 Abishai, Joab’s younger brother, was the leader of those three of David’s greatest soldiers. He once fought against 300 enemy soldiers and killed them all. As a result, he became famous like the three very greatest soldiers. 21 He was the most famous of the next three of David’s greatest soldiers, and he became their leader, although the three very greatest warriors were even more famous.
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada from the city of Kabzeel was another of David’s greatest soldiers. He won many great victories. He killed two of the best warriors in the Moabite army in single combat. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion there. 23 He also killed a giant Egyptian soldier who was two and a half meters tall. That soldier had a large, thick spear. Benaiah had only a wooden staff. But he attacked the soldier and took away his spear. Then he killed him with that spear. 24 Those are some of the things that Benaiah son of Jehoiada did. As a result, he became as famous as David’s three greatest warriors. 25 He was more famous than David’s other thirty greatest warriors, although the three very greatest warriors were even more famous. David appointed him to be the commander of his bodyguards.
26 These are the names of David’s greatest warriors:
Asahel the brother of Joab,
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
27 Shammoth the Harorite,
Helez the Pelonite,
28 Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
Abiezer the Anathothite,
29 Sibbecai the Hushathite,
Ilai the Ahohite,
30 Maharai the Netophathite,
Heleb son of Baanah the Netophathite,
31 Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin,
Benaiah the Pirathonite,
32 Hurai from the place where streams flow through Gaash,
Abiel the Arbathite,
33 Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
34 the sons of Hashem the Gizonite,
Jonathan son of Shagee, the Hararite,
35 Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite,
Eliphal son of Ur,
36 Hepher the Mecherathite,
Ahijah the Pelonite,
37 Hezro the Carmelite,
Naarai son of Ezbai,
38 Joel the brother of Nathan,
Mibhar son of Hagri,
39 Zelek the Ammonite,
Naharai the Beerothite who carried the weapons of Joab son of Zeruiah,
40 Ira the Ithrite,
Gareb the Ithrite,
41 Uriah the Hittite,
Zabad son of Ahlai,
42 Adina son of Shiza from the tribe of Reuben, a leader from that tribe, who had 30 soldiers with him,
43 Hanan son of Maacah,
Joshaphat the Mithnite,
44 Uzzia the Ashterathite,
Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,
45 Jediael son of Shimri
and his brother Joha the Tizite,
46 Eliel the Mahavite,
Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam,
Ithmah the Moabite,
47 Eliel and Obed
and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
12 David stayed in the city of Ziklag in order to be safe from Saul the son of Kish. Some Israelite soldiers joined him there. They helped David when he fought battles. Here is a list of those soldiers. 2 They were experts with bows, and they could shoot arrows and sling stones with either their right hands or their left hands. They were kinsmen of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.
3 Their commanders were Ahiezer and Joash. They were sons of Shemaah from the city of Gibeah. Others who came were:
Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth,
Beracah,
Jehu from the city of Anathoth,
4 Ishmaiah from the city of Gibeon, who was one of David’s thirty greatest warriors at that time and who commanded them,
Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad from the city of Gederah,
5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah from the city of Haruph,
6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, who were all descendants of Korah,
7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, Jeroham’s sons from the city of Gedor.
8 Some men from the tribe of Gad joined David when he was staying in a cave in the desert. They were great soldiers who had experience fighting battles. They were able to use shields and spears skillfully. They were fierce, as lions are, and they could run fast, as deer do on hills.
9 Ezer was their leader.
Next was Obadiah.
Next was Eliab.
10 Next was Mishmannah.
Next was Jeremiah.
11 Next was Attai.
Next was Eliel.
12 Next was Johanan.
Next was Elzabad.
13 Next was a man whose name was also Jeremiah.
Next was Machbannai.
14 Those men from the tribe of Gad were such great soldiers that it seemed that one of the least of them could defeat 100 other men and that the greatest of them could defeat 1,000 other men. 15 They are the ones who crossed the Jordan River to help David even though it was spring, the time when that river overflows its banks. They made the people who lived in the valleys on both sides of the river leave so that it would be safer for David.
16 Some other men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah also came to David when he was staying for safety in a cave. 17 David came out to meet them and told them, “If you have come peacefully to help me, I am eager to have you join me. But if you have come to enable my enemies to capture me, even though I have not done anything wrong, I hope that the God we Israelites worship will see that and condemn you.”
18 Then God’s Spirit inspired Amasai, who later became the leader of the thirty greatest warriors in that location, and Amasai said,
“We support you, David!
We will help you, son of Jesse!
We have come peacefully. We know that your God is helping you,
and so we wish you well, and we wish well to everyone else who helps you.”
So David welcomed those men, and he appointed them to be leaders of his soldiers. 19 Some men from the tribe of Manasseh joined David when he went with the Philistine army to fight against Saul’s army. But David and his men did not help the Philistines. The leaders of Philistia said, “David might try to make Saul happy with him again by killing our own soldiers!” So after they had discussed this, those leaders sent David and his soldiers back home. 20 After David went back to his home in Ziklag, these men from the tribe of Manasseh joined him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, another man whose name was Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. They were leaders of the clans of the tribe of Manasseh. 21 Those men from the tribe of Manasseh were all great soldiers, so they were able to help David fight against the groups of men who roamed throughout the country robbing people. They became commanders in David’s army. 22 Every day more men came to support David. His army became large, like a very great army.
23 These are the numbers of skillful soldiers who joined David at the city of Hebron. They came to help him to become the king of Israel instead of Saul, as Yahweh had promised would happen.
24 There were 6,800 skillful soldiers from the tribe of Judah. They could use shields and spears effectively.
25 There were 7,100 men from the tribe of Simeon. They were great soldiers who fought well.
26 There were 4,600 men from the tribe of Levi.
27 Their leader Jehoiada was a descendant of Aaron. He brought 3,700 men with him.
28 Zadok, a great young soldier, was also in that group. Twenty-two other officers from his clan came with him.
29 From Saul’s kinsmen in the tribe of Benjamin, 3,000 men came. Most of them had previously supported Saul and his descendants.
30 There were 20,800 men from the tribe of Ephraim. They were great soldiers who had become famous in their clans.
31 There were 18,000 men from the half of the tribe of Manasseh that lived west of the Jordan River. Their leaders chose them personally to go and help David become the king.
32 There were 200 leaders from the tribe of Issachar who also came. They recognized clearly that now that Saul had died, the Israelites should make David their king. These leaders commanded other men from their tribe.
33 There were 50,000 men from the tribe of Zebulun. They were experienced warriors, and they knew how to fight with different kinds of weapons. They were completely committed to fighting for David.
34 There were 1,000 officers from the tribe of Naphtali, and 37,000 soldiers came with them, each one carrying a shield and a spear.
35 There were 28,600 men from the tribe of Dan who knew how to fight well.
36 There were 40,000 soldiers from the tribe of Asher who had gone to war and fought in battles.
37 There were also 120,000 soldiers from the area east of the Jordan River who joined David. They were from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. They had many different kinds of weapons for fighting battles.
38 All those soldiers who could fight well came to Hebron completely committed to making David the king of all of the Israelite people. The rest of the Israelites also agreed that they wanted David to be their king. 39 The men spent three days in Hebron with David. Their fellow Israelites had prepared a feast for them, so they enjoyed food and drink throughout that time. 40 Their fellow Israelites came from as far away as the territories of the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. Because the Israelites were having a celebration, they brought many kinds of things to eat: flour for bread, dried figs, raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle, and sheep.
13 One day David spoke with all of his army officers. Some of them commanded 1,000 soldiers, and the others commanded 100 soldiers. 2 Then David summoned the other Israelite leaders and said to them, “If you think it is a good idea, and if it is what Yahweh our God wants, let us send a message to our other kinsmen throughout the land of Israel. Let us include the priests and Levites who live among them in their towns and in the surrounding rural areas. Let us ask them to come and join us. 3 Then let us all together bring the sacred chest of our God here to Jerusalem. We did not ask God what he wanted us to do while Saul was king, so we should bring the chest here so we can do that now..” 4 All of the leaders thought that this was the right thing to do. So they told David that he should do what he had suggested.
5 So David sent messengers to tell other Israelites to come and help bring God’s sacred chest to Jerusalem from the city of Kiriath Jearim. Israelites came from as far south as Shihor River on the border of Egypt. They came from as far north as the mountain pass of Lebo Hamath. 6 David went with a great crowd of Israelites to the city of Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, in the territory of the tribe of Judah. They went there to get the chest of God. Yahweh was present in a special way between the statues of the winged creatures on top of the chest. People call that chest “The Box of Yahweh.”
7 The sacred chest was at the house of a man whose name was Abinadab. The people used a new cart to carry it from there. Two oxen were pulling the cart, and Abinadab’s two sons Uzzah and Ahio were guiding them. 8 David and the other Israelites were celebrating greatly in God’s presence as they walked with the sacred chest. People were singing and playing musical instruments including harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
9 But when they came to the place in the area of Chidon where people threshed grain, the oxen tripped. Because that made the cart tilt so that the sacred chest might have fallen off of it, Uzzah put his hand on the sacred chest to steady it. 10 Yahweh became very angry with Uzzah for putting his hand on the chest. He killed him right there next to it.
11 David became angry because Yahweh had punished Uzzah. David called that place Perez Uzzah, and that has been its name ever since.
12 Then David became afraid of what else God might do to punish them, and he said, “It is too dangerous for me to try to bring the sacred chest to where I live in Jerusalem!” 13 So David decided not to bring the sacred chest to the City of David where he lived. Instead, he had the people take it into a house that was there by the road. A man whose name was Obed Edom the Gittite lived in that house. 14 The sacred chest stayed in the house of Obed Edom with his family for the next three months. During that time, Yahweh made good things happen for his family and everything he owned.
14 One day Hiram, the king of the city of Tyre, sent ambassadors to make a peace treaty with David. Hiram agreed to provide cedar trees to make lumber, and he also agreed that he would send carpenters and stone masons to build a palace for David. 2 Because Hiram did these things, David realized that Yahweh truly wanted him to be the king of Israel. He also realized that Yahweh wanted him to be a powerful king so that he could protect the Israelites, whom Yahweh had chosen as his own people.
3 David married more women in Jerusalem. Those women gave birth to more sons and daughters for him. 4 In Jerusalem, his wives bore sons to him who had these names: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 5 Ibhar, Elishama, Elpelet, 6 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7 Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.
8 When the Philistines learned that the Israelites had made David their king, they sent their army to try to capture him. But David learned that they were coming, and he and his soldiers went out to fight against them. 9 The Philistine army marched into the Valley of the Rephaim southwest of Jerusalem and set up its battle lines there. 10 David asked Yahweh, “Should I lead my soldiers to attack the Philistine army? Will you enable us to defeat them?”
Yahweh replied, “Yes, attack them, because I will enable your army to defeat them.”
11 So David led his army to the place that people now call Baal Perazim. They defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “God enabled us to break through the enemy battle lines just as a flood of water breaks through a dam!” So David named that place Baal Perazim. 12 The Philistine soldiers left their idols there, and David ordered his soldiers to burn them.
13 But after that, the Philistine army set up its battle lines in the Valley of the Rephaim again. 14 So David again asked God what he should do. God told him, “Do not attack their battle lines directly. Instead, tell your soldiers to go around them. Attack them through the grove of balsam trees. 15 You will hear the sound of an army marching in the tops of the balsam trees. When you do, you will know that I, God, am going ahead of you to enable your army to defeat the Philistine army. So when you hear that sound, attack them right away.” 16 So David did what God had told him to do. His soldiers defeated the Philistine soldiers and chased them from the city of Gibeon all the way west to the city of Gezer.
17 This made David famous in the surrounding countries. Yahweh made the people of other nations afraid of him.
15 David had his workers build houses for him in the part of Jerusalem that people called the City of David. He also had them set up a place in which to put the sacred chest. They set up a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “No one except the Levites may carry the sacred chest, because Yahweh chose them to carry it and to serve him always.”
3 David summoned people from throughout Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted them to celebrate when the Levites brought Yahweh’s sacred chest to the place his workers had set up for it. 4 David summoned the priests, the descendants of Aaron, and these other Levites:
6 from the descendants of Merari, Levi’s third son, Asaiah, the leader and his kinsmen, 220 in all;
7 from the descendants of Gershon, Levi’s first son, Joel, the leader, and his kinsmen, 130 in all;
8 from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, the leader, and his kinsmen, 200 in all;
9 from the descendants of Hebron, Eliel, the leader, and his kinsmen, 80 in all;
10 and from the descendants of Uzziel, Amminadab, the leader, and his kinsmen, 112 in all.
11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and these leaders of the Levites: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 David told them, “You are the leaders of the clans of the Levites. You and your family members must purify yourselves ceremonially. Then you must bring the sacred chest of Yahweh, the God of us Israelites, to the place that I have set up for it. 13 The first time we tried to bring it here, we did not obey the instructions in the law of Moses about carrying it. As a result, we did not have you Levites carry it, and so Yahweh our God punished us.”
14 Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves ceremonially so that they could transport the sacred chest of Yahweh, the God of the Israelites. 15 Then they did what Yahweh had told Moses to command regarding God’s sacred chest. The Levites put poles through the rings on it and carried it by putting the poles on their shoulders.
16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint some of their kinsmen to sing and play musical instruments: lyres, harps, and cymbals. David wanted them to make a loud, happy sound.
17 So the Levites appointed Heman and his kinsmen Asaph and Ethan. Heman was the son of Joel. Asaph was the son of Berechiah. Ethan was the son of Kushaiah and was a descendant of Merari. 18 They also appointed a further group of their kinsmen to help them: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah. They appointed Obed Edom and Jeiel to guard the sacred chest.
19 Heman, Asaph, and Ethan sang and also played bronze cymbals loudly. 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played lyres in a high pitch. 21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah played harps in a lower pitch and guided the music. 22 Kenaniah, the music director of the Levites, conducted the singing because he knew how to do that well.
23 Berechiah and Elkanah were two men who helped guard the sacred chest. 24 The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were blowing trumpets in front of God’s sacred chest. Obed Edom and Jehiah walked next to the sacred chest as they played their harps.
25 So David, the Israelite elders, and the commanders of groups of 1,000 soldiers went to get the sacred chest. It was a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and the people of Israel. They joyfully brought the sacred chest from Obed Edom’s house. 26 God treated the Levites favorably who were carrying the sacred chest that was a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and the people of Israel. To thank him, David and the leaders sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was wearing a fine linen robe. David was also wearing a simple linen garment underneath. The Levites who carried the sacred chest, the singers, and Kenaniah, the director of the singing, were all wearing fine linen too. 28 Many Israelite people joined in bringing the sacred chest to Jerusalem. They shouted joyfully, blew horns and trumpets, and played cymbals, lyres, and harps.
29 Michal , David’s first wife, the daughter of Saul, looked out a window. She saw them bringing the sacred chest into the part of Jerusalem that people called the City of David. When she saw David dancing and celebrating in the simple garment, she felt disgusted with him because she did not think a king should dress and act that way.
16 They brought God’s sacred chest to Jerusalem, and they put it in the special tent that David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God, who was present there in a special way. 2 When the priests finished making those offerings for David, David asked Yahweh to bless the people. 3 David had his servants give a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake to all of the people, both men and women, who were there from throughout Israel.
4 Then David appointed some Levites to stand in front of Yahweh’s sacred chest and thank and praise Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, for all that he had done. 5 Asaph was their leader. Zechariah was his assistant. The other Levites who helped were Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They played harps and lyres, and Asaph played cymbals. 6 The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel played trumpets regularly in front of the the sacred chest that was a symbol of the agreement between God and the people of Israel.
7 On that day, David first instructed Asaph and his kinsmen to sing this song to praise Yahweh:
8 Give thanks to Yahweh; pray to him.
Tell people throughout the world what he has done!
9 Sing to him; praise him with musical instruments;
tell others about all of his wonderful miracles!
10 Be proud of Yahweh, who is the holy God.
You people who worship Yahweh, rejoice!
11 Ask Yahweh to help you and to make you strong;
pray to him regularly.
12 Think about the wonderful things that he has done,
the miracles he has performed and the just laws that he has decreed.
13 We are the offspring of his servant Israel;
we are the descendants of Jacob, whom he chose.
14 He is Yahweh, the God whom we worship.
He rules over people throughout the earth.
15 Always remember the agreement that he made.
He will keep his promise for countless generations.
16 That is the agreement that he made with Abraham
and that he repeated with an oath to Isaac.
17 Then he confirmed his agreement with Jacob,
that is, with Israel, as a promise that he would always keep.
18 Yahweh told them, “I will give you the region of Canaan;
that is something you will always possess.”
19 Yahweh said that to the people of Israel when there were only a few of them.
They were a tiny group of people who were living in that land like strangers.
20 They continually wandered from one place to another,
living in various kingdoms and among different people groups.
21 But Yahweh did not allow others to oppress the people of Israel.
On their behalf, he warned kings by saying to them,
22 “Do not harm the people whom I have chosen!
Do not do anything bad to my prophets!”
23 People throughout the world, sing to Yahweh!
Every day proclaim to others that he has saved us.
24 Tell the people of other nations how glorious he is;
tell all of them the marvelous things that he has done.
25 Do this because Yahweh is great, and he deserves very much for people to praise him;
people should revere him more than all other gods.
26 This is true because all of the gods that the other peoples worship are only idols,
but it was Yahweh who made the sky!
27 Yahweh is magnificent and majestic.
People who worship him at his sanctuary become strong and joyful.
28 People who belong to other nations,
acknowledge that Yahweh is glorious and powerful!
29 Acknowledge that Yahweh deserves praise for who he is.
Bring offerings to him at his sanctuary.
Worship Yahweh because he is marvelously holy.
30 People throughout the world should tremble because of who he is.
After all, he put the world in its place, and nothing will ever move it.
31 Everything throughout the creation should celebrate,
and the people of nations throughout the world should proclaim, “Yahweh is the king!”
32 If they could, the oceans and all the creatures in them should shout to praise Yahweh,
and the fields and everything in them should rejoice.
33 If they could, the trees in the forest should cheer in front of Yahweh,
because he will come to judge everyone on the earth.
34 Thank Yahweh because he is good
and because he faithfully loves us forever!
35 Say to him, “You are the God who can save us, so please save us.
Please rescue us from enemy nations that would try to capture us.
Then we will thank you for your special character,
and we will revel in giving you praise.”
36 Praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelites worship!
Praise him now and forever!
After the Levites finished singing that song, the people who were there said “Amen!” to express their agreement, and they worshiped Yahweh. 37 Then David assigned Asaph and some of his fellow Levites to sing and play musical instruments regularly in front of the sacred chest. It was a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and the people of Israel. David told them to do what they needed to do each day. 38 David also assigned 68 other Levites to work there, with Obed Edom as their leader. Hosah and Obed Edom, who was the son of Jeduthun, guarded the entrances to the special tent that David had set up for the sacred chest.
39 David also assigned Zadok the high priest and other priests with him to work at Yahweh’s sacred tent in which the sacred chest had previously been. It was at a hilltop shrine in the city of Gibeon. 40 David told them to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh regularly, every morning and every evening, on the altar for those offerings. Yahweh had commanded the Israelites to do that, and Moses had written that down in the law. 41 David personally chose Heman, Jeduthun, and some other Levites to work with them. He assigned them to praise Yahweh, as the song says, “because he always loves his people faithfully.” 42 As part of that group, Heman and Jeduthun directed the Levites who played trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments to praise God. Jeduthun’s sons guarded the gate that led to the sacred tent.
43 Then the crowd of people left and each went back to their homes. David returned to his home to ask Yahweh to bless his family.
17 After David had begun to live in his palace, he told the prophet Nathan, “I am living in a palace a palace that King Hiram’s craftsmen built for me from cedar wood. But the sacred chest that is a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and the people of Israel is in a tent. That does not seem right.”
2 Then Nathan told King David, “God will help you, so you may do what you want to do.”
3 But that night, God appeared to Nathan and told him,
4 “Go and give my servant David this message from me. Tell him that he is not the one who will build a temple in which I will be present in a special way. 5 I have not been especially present in any building from the time when I brought the Israelites here from Egypt until now. Instead, I have been present in my sacred tent, moving from one place to another with the people. 6 I went with the Israelites wherever they traveled, but I never told any of the leaders whom I appointed to rule them that they should have built a temple for me out of cedar wood.
7 So give my servant David this message from me, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies. Although he worked out in the fields caring for his father’s sheep, I appointed him to become the king of my Israelite people. 8 Remind him that I have protected him wherever he has gone. I have enabled him to defeat all the enemies who attacked him. Now I will make him very famous. He will become as famous as the greatest people who have ever lived on earth.9-10 9-10When my Israelite people were slaves in Egypt, violent people oppressed them. They also oppressed them in this land during the time when I was appointing judges to lead them. But this will not happen anymore. I have made a place where my people can live, and I will enable them to keep living there. They will no longer be afraid. I will make all their enemies stop attacking them. Tell David that I promise that I, Yahweh, will enable his descendants to rule as kings. 11 Tell David that after he has lived out his life and died, I will appoint one of his descendants who is one of his own sons to be the next king. I will make sure that he remains the king. 12 Assure David that that son of his will build a temple for me. No one will ever replace him as the king. 13 It will be as if I am his father and he is my son. I will never stop treating him favorably as I stopped treating favorably the king who reigned before David. 14 So assure David that his descendants will continually rule the kingdom of Israel after him. No other family will ever replace them as the royal family.”
15 Nathan went and told David everything that Yahweh had told him when he appeared to him.
16 Then King David went to the sacred tent and sat in Yahweh’s presence. He prayed, “Yahweh my God, I am not a very important person, and I do not come from a very important family. So I do not deserve the things that you have done for me already.
17 But now you want to do even more than this. After all, you have said that my descendants will rule for a very long time. You are treating me as if I am an important person, Yahweh my God.
18 I am not able to say anything further to you about honoring me. But you know me so well that you know what I would say if I could say it. 19 Yahweh, you are going to do this wonderful thing because you promised to make me a king, and because it is what you really want to do. It was also wonderful for you to tell me about this now.
20 Yahweh, the gods that the people of other nations worship are nothing like you. We have never heard of any real God except for you. 21 No other nation is like the people of Israel, who belong to you. We are the only nation in the world whose God rescued them so that they could be his people. You rescued us Israelites from being slaves in Egypt. Then you forced the nations that were living here to leave so that we could live here. Because you did these things, you are famous, and people respect you. 22 You caused us Israelites to be your people forever, and you, Yahweh, have become our God!
23 Yahweh, you have promised to do wonderful things for me and my descendants. So please do what you have promised, and please make sure that those things always happen. 24 When you do that, you will become famous forever. People will exclaim, ‘The Israelites worship Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, and he helps them as their God!’ And you will make sure that a descendant of mine will always rule the Israelites.
25 I am confident that you will do this, because you, God, have revealed to me that you will make some of my descendants kings. For that reason, I have been bold enough to pray like this to you. 26 So now, Yahweh, because you are God, I know that you will do these good things that you have promised to me. 27 So now I pray that it will please you to do good things for my descendants. Please enable them to keep ruling your Israelite people. You, Yahweh, have promised to do these good things, so I know that you will keep doing good things for my descendants.”
18 Some time later, David and his army defeated the Philistine army. They made the Philistines subject to the Israelites. They captured the Philistine city of Gath and its surrounding villages.
2 David and his army also defeated the Moabite army. The Moabites had to accept David as their ruler. Every year they had to give him the payment that he demanded.
3 David’s army also defeated the army of Hadadezer who ruled the region of Zobah Hamath. He did that when Hadadezer was trying to establish control over the area near the Euphrates River. 4 David’s army captured 1,000 of Hadadezer’s chariots, 1,700 of his soldiers who were chariot drivers, and 20,000 infantry soldiers. They crippled most of the horses that had pulled chariots. But they spared enough of the horses to pull 100 chariots.
5 Then an army of Arameans from the kingdom whose capital was the city of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer’s army. But David’s soldiers killed 22,000 of those Arameans. 6 Then David stationed groups of his soldiers in that kingdom. Those Arameans had to accept David as their ruler. Every year they had to give him the payment that he demanded. Each time David led his soldiers into battle, Yahweh enabled them to win victories over their enemies.
7 Some of Hadadezer’s soldiers had carried shields that had a plating of gold. King David’s soldiers captured those shields and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 They also captured a very large quantity of bronze from Tebah and Kun, two cities in Hadadezer’s kingdom. David’s son Solomon later used it to make the huge bronze basin that people called the sea. He also used it to make pillars and other bronze items for the temple.
9 Tou, the king of the city of Hamath, heard that David’s army had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah. 10 So he sent his son Hadoram to King David to make a peace treaty with him and to congratulate him for defeating Hadadezer’s army. Tou congratulated David because Hadadezer’s army had fought many times against his own army. Hadoram brought David many articles of gold, silver, and bronze as gifts.
11 King David dedicated all those items to Yahweh, just as he had dedicated the silver and gold that his army had captured from the nations they had conquered. They had taken valuable items from the Arameans, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites.
12 Later Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, led the Israelite army to fight the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. They killed 18,000 Edomite soldiers. 13 Then David stationed groups of his soldiers throughout the region of Edom. The Edomites had to accept him as their ruler. Each time David led his soldiers into battle, Yahweh enabled them to win victories over their enemies.
14 So David ruled over all the Israelite people. As king, he decided the people’s cases, and he judged them fairly. 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was the army commander. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the man who reported to the people everything that David decided that they should do. 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were the priests. Shavsha was the official secretary. 17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the commander of David’s elite corps of bodyguards. David’s sons were important officials who helped him.
19 Sometime later, Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died. His son became the next Ammonite king. 2 David thought to himself, “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to his son Hanun.” So David sent some of his officials to tell Hanun that David was sorry that Hanun’s father had died.
When those officials arrived in the land of Ammon to give Hanun David’s message, 3 the Ammonite military leaders said to King Hanun, “You should not think that when David sent these men to tell you he is sorry that your father died, he did that to honor your father. He sent them here to look around the land to determine how his army can conquer us!”
4 Hanun believed what they said, so he commanded some of his soldiers to seize David’s officials and insult them by shaving off their beards. He also had them cut off the lower part of their robes so that their buttocks would show. Then he made them leave Ammon
5 and go back to Israel. The officials felt very ashamed. When David found out about what had happened to his officials, he sent some messengers to them to tell them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown again, and then return home.”
6 Then the Ammonite leaders realized that they had greatly insulted David. So Hanun and the Ammonites sent about 34,000 kilograms of silver to hire chariot drivers and soldiers who rode horses to help defend them. They hired them from the Aramean regions of Naharaim and Maacah and from Zobah. 7 They hired 32,000 chariots and their drivers. They also paid the king of the region of Maacah to come with his army. The forces they hired came and set up their tents near the city of Medeba in the region of Moab. The Ammonite soldiers also marched out from their cities and joined them to fight against the Israelites.
8 When David heard about that, he sent Joab with all of the best Israelite soldiers to fight against them. 9 The Ammonite soldiers came out of the city and formed a battle line in front of its wall. At the same time, the foreign kings who had come with their armies formed a separate battle line in the open fields nearby.
10 Joab saw that there were enemy armies in front of his troops and behind his troops. So he chose some of the best Israelite soldiers and put them in position to fight against the soldiers who were in the fields. 11 He told his brother Abishai to command the rest of the soldiers. They would oppose the Ammonite soldiers who had formed a battle line in front of the city wall. 12 Joab told Abishai, “If the soldiers from Aram are too strong for my men to defeat, then your men must come and help us. But if the Ammonite soldiers are too strong for your men, then my men will come and help them. 13 We must be strong and fight hard so that our enemies do not defeat us and then come and kill our people and destroy the cities in Israel, where we worship the true God. We will depend on Yahweh to make the right army win this battle.”
14 Then Joab and the soldiers he commanded advanced to attack the army of Aram. They defeated the Arameans so badly that the Arameans ran away from them. 15 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were running away, they also ran away from Abishai and the soldiers he was commanding. They retreated back inside the city. So Joab and his army stopped fighting against them and went back to Jerusalem.
16 The Arameans thought about how the Israelite army had defeated them, and they decided that they needed a much bigger army. So they sent messengers to the Aramean kingdoms that were on the other side of the Euphrates River. Those kingdoms sent many soldiers, and Shophach, the man who commanded the army of King Hadadezer, was leading them.
17 When David learned about this, he gathered all of the Israelite fighting men and led them across the Jordan River. They marched to Helam and formed a battle line there. Then David led his soldiers to attack the Arameans, and the two armies fought. 18 The Israelites defeated the Arameans so badly that the Aramean soldiers ran away from the Israelite soldiers. David and his army killed 7,000 of their chariot drivers and 40,000 other soldiers. They also killed Shophach, the army commander.
19 Then the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects thought about how the Israelites had defeated their combined armies. They decided to make a peace treaty with David. They agreed to accept him as their ruler. The Arameans would not help the Ammonites after that.
20 The following spring, at the time when kings usually led their armies to fight against their enemies, Joab led a strong Israelite army and invaded the land of the Ammonites. They surrounded Rabbah, their capital city, and fought to capture it. But David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab and his soldiers defeated the defenders of Rabbah and destroyed the city. 2 Then David came to Rabbah and took the golden crown off the head of the Ammonite king and put it on his own head. It weighed 34 kilograms, and it had a very valuable stone in it. David’s soldiers also took very many other valuable things from the city. 3 Then the Israelite soldiers brought the Ammonite people out of the city and forced them to work for them using saws, iron picks, and axes. David’s soldiers made the people who lived in the other Ammonite cities work for them in the same way. Then David and all of his army returned to Jerusalem.
4 Some time later, the Israelite soldiers fought a battle with the Philistines near the city of Gezer. During the battle, Sibbecai the Hushite killed Saph, who was a giant as his ancestors had been. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines.
5 In another battle against the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the younger brother of Goliath the Gittite. Lahmi had a spear that was as thick as a weaver’s rod.
6 Later, there was another battle near Gath. One of the Philistine soldiers was very tall. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He too was a giant as his ancestors had been. 7 He challenged any Israelite soldier to fight him in single combat. David’s older brother Shimeah had a son whose name was Jonathan. Jonathan accepted the challenge, fought this Philistine soldier, and killed him.
8 Those four men lived in Gath and were giants as their ancestors had been. David and his soldiers fought them and killed them.
21 Then the opponent of the Israelites made trouble for them by provoking David to find out how many Israelite men were able to fight in the army.
2 King David told Joab and the other army commanders, “Go out and count all the men in Israel who are able to fight in the army. Start at Beersheba in the south and go all the way to Dan in the north. Then come back and report to me so that I will know how many of those men there are.”
3 But Joab replied, “Your Majesty, I hope that Yahweh will make our army a hundred times larger than it is now. All the Israelite men are ready to obey you. So I do not think you should do this, Your Majesty. It would make us Israelites guilty.”
4 But King David insisted that Joab do as he had said. So Joab and his soldiers went throughout the land of Israel and counted the men who could fight. Then they returned to Jerusalem, 5 Joab reported to David that they had counted 470,000 men in Judah who could fight in the army, and they had counted 1,100,000 men in the rest of Israel who could fight in the army. 6 However, Joab did not count any men from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin. That was because what the king had commanded him to do disgusted him.
7 God considered that David had done a bad thing by counting the men, so he punished the Israelites. 8 Then David prayed to God, “I committed a terrible sin by doing this. What I did was very foolish. So now I ask you please to forgive my sin.”
9 Then Yahweh told Gad, David’s prophet, 10 “Go and tell David, ‘Yahweh says this: “There are three ways I might punish you. I will allow you to choose which one I use to punish the Israelites.” ’ ”
11 So Gad went to David and told him, “Yahweh says, ‘Choose one of these punishments. 12 There can be three years of famine in Israel. There can be three months when your enemies defeat your soldiers and kill many of them. Or there can be three days when I send a plague that will kill many Israelites. An angel of mine will kill people throughout your territory. Now tell me what I should reply to Yahweh, who sent me to you.”
13 David said to Gad, “Those are terrible things for me to have to choose between! But let Yahweh be the one to punish me with a plague, since he is very merciful. Do not let humans be the ones to punish me.”
14 So Yahweh sent a plague on the people of Israel, and 70, 000 Israelite people died because of the plague. 15 So God sent an angel to kill the people in Jerusalem with a plague. While the angel was doing that, Yahweh saw how the people were suffering, and decided to stop the plague. So he told the angel “Stop what you are doing! That is enough!” At that time, the angel was standing at the place where Ornan the Jebusite threshed his grain.
16 David looked up and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between the sky and the land. The angel had drawn his sword, and he was holding it out in his hand toward Jerusalem. David was with the elders of the city. They were all wearing rough cloth to show they were sorry for their sins. They bowed down humbly to the ground.
17 David prayed to God, “I am the one who ordered my officers to count the men who could fight in the army. I am the one who sinned by doing this wrong thing. But the Israelite people have done nothing wrong. They are as innocent as sheep. So Yahweh my God, please punish me and my family, but do not let this plague kill any more of your people.”
18 Then Yahweh’s angel told Gad to tell David that he should go to the place where Ornan threshed grain and build an altar to worship Yahweh there. 19 So David did what Gad told him to do, which was what Yahweh had commanded.
20 While Ornan was threshing some wheat, he turned around and saw the angel. His four sons who were with him also saw the angel, and they hid themselves. 21 Then David approached the place where Ornan was. When Ornan saw him, he left the place where he was threshing grain. He came and bowed down in front of David with his face touching the ground.
22 David said to Ornan, “Sell me this threshing place so I can build an altar here to worship Yahweh so that he will stop this plague from killing any more people. I will pay the full price.”
23 Ornan answered David, “I will give it to you, Your Majesty, and you can do whatever you want with it. I will also give you the oxen that thresh my grain for you to burn as an offering on the altar. I will give you my wooden threshing boards to use as fuel for the fire. I will give you the wheat I have threshed for a grain offering. I will give you everything.”
24 But King David said to Ornan, “No, instead, I will certainly pay you the full price. I will not take things that still belong to you because I have not paid for them and offer them to Yahweh as my own burnt offering.”
25 Then David paid Ornan six and a half kilograms of gold for the property. 26 David built an altar to worship Yahweh there, and he offered burnt sacrifices and fellowship sacrifices on the altar. When David prayed to Yahweh, Yahweh answered by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offerings on the altar.
27 Then Yahweh told the angel to put his sword back into its sheath, and the angel did that. 28 Then David realized that Yahweh had answered his prayers at the place where Ornan threshed grain by ending the plague. So he offered thanksgiving sacrifices there. 29 Moses had built a sacred tent in the wilderness for Yahweh. He had also made an altar for burnt sacrifices. At this time, they were at a hilltop shrine near the city of Gibeon. 30 But David had not gone there to pray to God. That was because he was afraid that Yahweh’s angel might kill him with the plague.
22 Then David said, “This is the place where we will build a temple for Yahweh our God. This is where we will have an altar for offering burnt sacrifices on behalf of the Israelites.”
2 Then David commanded his officials to gather the foreigners who were living in Israel. He assigned some of them to cut huge stones from quarries and to smooth their surfaces so that workers could use them to build a temple for God. 3 David provided a large amount of iron for making nails and hinges for the doors of the gates of the temple. He also provided a large amount of bronze. There was so much bronze that no one could find out how much it all weighed. 4 David also obtained cedar logs for workers to use in building the temple. He was able to do that because workers from the cities of Tyre and Sidon brought the logs to David. They brought more logs than anyone could count.
5 David provided those things because he thought, “My son Solomon is still young, and he lacks experience. Yahweh’s temple must be magnificent. It must suit his reputation. People throughout the world must recognize that it is beautiful. So I will collect the materials for it now.” And David did collect a great amount of building materials before he died.
6 Then David summoned his son Solomon and told him to build a temple for Yahweh, the God whom the Israelites worshipped. 7 David told Solomon, “My son, I wanted to build a temple to honor Yahweh, my God. 8 But Yahweh told a prophet to tell me, ‘Your armies have killed many soldiers in the big battles that you have fought. I have seen the many people you have killed, so you will not be the one to build a temple to honor me. 9 But you are going to have a son, and he will not fight wars when he is king after you. None of the foreign kings around him will fight wars with him. That is why his name will be Solomon. While he is the king, I will make the Israelites peaceful and safe. 10 He is the one who will build a temple to honor me. He will be like a son to me, and I will be like a father to him. I will make his descendants keep ruling Israel after him.’
11 So now, my son, I hope that Yahweh will help you and that you will succeed in building a temple for Yahweh, your God. That is what he said you would do. 12 I also hope that he will make you wise and help you understand how to rule the Israelites well. May you always obey the law of Yahweh, the God whom you worship. 13 If you carefully obey the laws and decrees that Yahweh gave Moses for the Israelites, then you will be successful. Now be brave and strong. Do not be afraid, and do not become discouraged.
14 Listen, I have worked hard to collect materials for the temple of Yahweh. They include 3,300 metric tons of gold, 33,000 metric tons of silver, and a very large amount of iron and bronze. There is too much of those metals for anyone to find out how much they weigh. I have also collected lumber and stones. But you will need to acquire more of those things. 15 There are many men in Israel who have good ability to cut large stones and to make things from stone and wood. There are also many skillful workers who can make things 16 from gold, silver, bronze, and iron. There are too many of those workers to count. So take action and begin the work of building the temple. May Yahweh help you.”
17 Then David ordered all the Israelite leaders to help his son Solomon. He told them, 18 “Yahweh our God has certainly helped us. He has enabled me to defeat the foreign nations in this area. Now we Israelites, who belong to Yahweh, control this whole area. As a result, there are no enemy nations around you that might attack you. 19 This means that you can devote yourselves entirely to honoring Yahweh your God by taking action and building a temple for him. Then you will be able to bring the sacred chest into the temple that you build to honor Yahweh. The chest is a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and the Israelites. You can also bring into the temple the sacred articles that the priests use.
23 When David had become a very old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be the next king over Israel.
2 David gathered the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. 3 He commanded his officials to count the Levites individually who were at least 30 years old. They found out that there were 38,000 such men. 4 Then David said, “I want 24,000 of those Levites to work at the temple of Yahweh, and I want 6,000 of them to be officials and judges. 5 I want 4,000 of them to take turns guarding the gates. And I want 4,000 of them to praise Yahweh using the musical instruments that I have had my workers make for that purpose.”
6 David divided the Levites into three groups, based on which son of Levi was their ancestor, Gershon, Kohath, or Merari.
7 The sons of Gershon were Ladan and Shimei.
8 Ladan had three sons: first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel.
9 Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.
They were leaders of the clans of Ladan.
10 Shimei’s four sons were Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah.
11 Jahath was the firstborn son. Ziza was the second son.
Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so the officers counted their descendants together as one clan.
12 Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13 Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses.
Yahweh chose Aaron and his descendants alone as the ones who would always work in the most holy area. He chose them to offer sacrifices to him, to serve him as his priests, and to praise him continually.
14 As for Moses, even though he was a special servant of God, his descendants were Levites, not priests.
15 Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The firstborn son of Gershom was Shubael.
17 Eliezer’s firstborn son was Rehabiah.
Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.
18 Izhar’s firstborn son was Shelomith.
19 Hebron had four sons.
Jeriah was his firstborn son, Amariah was his second son, Jahaziel was his third son, and Jekameam was his fourth son.
20 Uzziel had two sons.
Micah was the older son, and Isshiah was the younger son.
21 Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi.
Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having sons. He only had daughters. Their cousins, Kish’s sons, married them.
23 Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
24 When the officials counted the Levites individually, they grouped them according to the clans of the Levites that had these ancestors. They assigned various duties related to the work in the temple to each clan. In the end, they counted Levites who were 20 years old or older. 25 That was because David said, “Yahweh, the God whom we Israelites worship, has made our lives peaceful. He will always be present in a special way in Jerusalem. 26 As a result, the Levites no longer need to carry the sacred tent and all the items that the priests used in the work there.” 27 David said that shortly before he died. As a result, his officials counted Levites who were at least 20 years old since younger men could now help with the work.
28 The Levites helped the priests, the descendants of Aaron, in their work in Yahweh’s sanctuary. They took care of the courtyards and side rooms of the temple. They performed the ceremonies for purifying the sacred articles. They did other work at the sanctuary as necessary. 29 They also prepared the loaves of bread that the priests placed on the table in the temple each week. They prepared the flour for the grain offerings, and they prepared the wafers that had no yeast. They baked these items, and they mixed olive oil into any offerings that required it. They made sure that the offerings contained the quantities that the law required. 30 Levites also stood at the temple each morning and evening and sang songs to thank and praise Yahweh. 31 They also did that whenever the priests offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the Sabbath, at the New Moon festivals, and at each of the feasts that the law commanded the Israelites to celebrate each year. They did that regularly in Yahweh’s presence.
32 So the Levites took care of the special tent that David had set up for the sacred chest. They helped their relatives, the priests, the descendants of Aaron, do their work at this place where the Israelites worshiped Yahweh.
24 These are the divisions of the descendants of Aaron, the first high priest. Aaron’s four sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father died, and they had no children. So their younger brothers Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. 3 Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, who was a descendant of Ithamar, helped David to separate their descendants into two groups. Each group had certain duties. 4 There were more clan leaders among the descendants of Eleazar than among the descendants of Ithamar. So they appointed sixteen clan leaders from Eleazar’s descendants to lead priestly divisions. They appointed eight clan leaders from Ithamar’s descendants. 5 Among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar, there were priests who took care of the sanctuary and priests who offered sacrifices. So they decided what work each division would do by drawing lots. Each lot had the name of a clan leader on it, and they put all the names together in a single urn.
6 Shemaiah son of Nethanel was a Levite who was an official secretary. As someone drew the name of each clan leader out of the urn, he wrote down the number of that lot, the leader’s name, and whether he was a descendant of Eleazar or Ithamar. King David and his officials watched him write these things down. So did the two high priests, Zadok and Ahimelech son of Abiathar. The clan leaders of the priests and Levites also watched.
7 Jehoiarib's name was on the first lot.
Jedaiah’s name was on the second lot.
8 Harim’s name was on the third lot.
Seorim’s name was on the fourth lot.
9 Malkijah’s name was on the fifth lot.
Mijamin’s name was on the sixth lot.
10 Hakkoz’s name was on the seventh lot.
Abijah’s name was on the eighth lot.
11 Jeshua’s name was on the ninth lot.
Shecaniah’s name was on the tenth lot.
12 Eliashib’s name was on the eleventh lot.
Jakim’s name was on the twelfth lot.
13 Huppah’s name was on the thirteenth lot.
Jeshebeab’s name was on the fourteenth lot.
14 Bilgah’s name was on the fifteenth lot.
Immer’s name was on the sixteenth lot.
15 Hezir’s name was on the seventeenth lot.
Happizzez’s name was on the eighteenth lot.
16 Pethahiah’s name was on the nineteenth lot.
Jehezkel’s name was on the twentieth lot.
17 Jakin’s name was on the twenty-first lot.
Gamul’s name was on the twenty-second lot.
18 Delaiah’s name was on the twenty-third lot.
Maaziah’s name was on the twenty-fourth lot.
19 The priests in these divisions would take turns serving in the temple in that order. Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, had commanded Aaron to perform certain duties as a priest. Aaron told his descendants to perform those same duties.
20 This is a list of some of the other descendants of Levi.
One of the descendants of Amram was Shubael.
One of the descendants of Shubael was Jehdeiah.
21 One of the descendants of Rehabiah was Isshiah, his oldest son.
22 One of the descendants of Kohath’s son Izhar was Shelomoth.
One of the descendants of Shelomoth was Jahath.
23 Two of the descendants of Kohath’s son Hebron were his oldest son Jeriah and his second son Amariah. Jahaziel was his third son, and Jekameam was his fourth son.
24 One of the descendants of Kohath’s son Uzziel was Micah.
One of the descendants of Micah was Shamir.
25 Micah’s younger brother was Isshiah.
One of the descendants of Isshiah was Zechariah.
26 The sons of Merari were Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah. Jaaziah’s first son was Beno.
27 In Merari’s family line, Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri were among the descendants of Jaaziah.
28 Mahli’s son Eleazar did not have any sons.
29 One of the descendants of Kish was his son Jerahmeel.
30 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
These were all descendants of Levi, and these were their clans. 31 King David watched while someone drew lots to determine the duties of these Levites, just as someone had done for their kinsmen the priests. The high priests Zadok and Ahimelech also watched, as did the clan leaders of the priests and Levites. The descendants of an eldest brother did not receive favorable treatment compared with the descendants of a younger brother.
25 David and his military officers chose some of the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to lead worship music at the temple with harps, lyres, and cymbals. Here is a list of the men whom they chose for that work.
4 From Heman’s family, they chose his sons Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 Those were all sons of Heman, who was King David’s prophet. God had promised that he would honor Heman, and he enabled him to have fourteen sons and three daughters.
6 The fathers of all these men directed them as they performed music in Yahweh’s temple. They played cymbals, harps, and lyres as their work in the temple. The king supervised their fathers Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. 7 Those men and their relatives could play musical instruments skillfully, and they learned the music for the temple songs. There were 288 of those men. 8 David and his officers cast lots to determine what work each group of Levites would do. Men who were more important or who had more experience did not receive favorable treatment compared with men who were less important or who had less experience.
9 The first lot selected Joseph and his sons and relatives from the family of Asaph—12 men in all. The second lot selected Gedaliah and his sons and relatives—12 men in all.
13 The sixth lot selected Bukkiah and his sons and relatives—12 men in all.
17 The tenth lot selected Shimei and his sons and relatives—12 men in all.
21 The fourteenth lot selected Mattithiah and his sons and relatives—12 men in all.
25 The eighteenth lot selected Hanani and his sons and relatives—12 men in all.
29 The twenty-second lot selected Giddalti and his sons and relatives—12 men in all.
26 This is a list of the groups of men who guarded the temple gates:
From Korah’s descendants, there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, who was one of Asaph’s descendants.
2 Meshelemiah had seven sons. His oldest son was Zechariah. His second son was Jediael. His third son was Zebadiah. His fourth son was Jathniel, 3 His fifth son was Elam. His sixth son was Jehohanan. His seventh son was Eliehoenai.
4 Another guard was Obed Edom. He had eight sons.
His oldest son was Shemaiah. His second son was Jehozabad. His third son was Joah. His fourth son was Sakar. His fifth son was Nethanel, 5 His sixth son was Ammiel. His seventh son was Issachar. His eighth son was Peullethai. Obed Edom had many sons because God blessed him.
6 Obed Edom’s son Shemaiah also had sons. They were capable men, and so they became leaders in their clan.
7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. Shemaiah’s relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also capable men.
8 All of those descendants of Obed Edom and their sons and relatives were capable men and hard workers. Altogether there were 62 of them.
9 Another guard was Meshelemiah. He and his sons and relatives were also capable men. There were 18 of them altogether.
10 Another guard was Hosah, a descendant of Merari. Hosah had four sons. Shimri was the leader of the sons. He was not the oldest, but Hosah appointed him to be the leader. 11 Hosah’s second son was Hilkiah. His third son was Tabaliah. His fourth son was Zechariah. Altogether there were 13 sons and relatives of Hosah.
12 Those are the men who led the groups of Levites who guarded the gates of the temple. They worked at the temple as their fellow Levites did. 13 The Israelite leaders cast lots to determine which family group would guard each gate. Men who were more important did not receive favorable treatment compared with men who were less important. 14 The lot for Shelemiah’s group indicated they would guard the east gate. The lot for Shelemiah’s son Zechariah, who was a wise counselor, indicated that his group would guard the north gate.
15 The lot for Obed Edom’s group indicated they would guard the south gate. The lot for Obed Edom’s sons indicated they would guard the entrances to the temple storerooms.
19 Those were the groups of men who were descendants of Korah and Merari who guarded the gates of the temple.
20 Some other Levites supervised the storerooms for valuable items that belonged to the temple and valuable items that people had dedicated to Yahweh. 21 One descendant of Gershon was Ladan. Some of Ladan's descendants were clan leaders. One of them was Jehieli. 22 Two of Jehiel’s sons, Zetham and his younger brother Joel, were responsible for the storeroom for valuable items that belonged to the temple.
23 Some Levites who were descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel also helped guard the treasuries.
24 Shubael, a descendant of Moses’ son Gershom, was the official in charge of all the storerooms. 25 Another descendant of Moses was Shelomith. Eliezer, the son of Moses, was the ancestor of Rehabiah. Rehebiah was the ancestor of Jeshaiah. Jeshaiah was the ancestor of Joram. Joram was the ancestor of Zichri. Zichri was the ancestor of Shelomith. 26 Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the valuable things that people had dedicated to Yahweh. Those people included King David, clan leaders who were commanders of 1,000 soldiers or 100 soldiers, and other army commanders. 27 To help maintain Yahweh’s temple, they contributed some of the valuable things they captured after winning battles. 28 Shelomith and his relatives were also responsible for everything that the prophet Samuel, King Saul, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah had dedicated to Yahweh.
29 One of the descendants of Izhar was Kenaniah. He and his sons worked outside the temple area. They were officials and judges in various places in Israel.
30 One of the descendants of Hebron was Hashabiah. He and his relatives did their work in the part of Israel east of the Jordan River. They collected tithes and offerings and taught people about Yahweh. They also collected taxes, helped settle disputes, and made sure that people obeyed the king’s commands. They were capable men, and there were 1,700 of them. 31 After David had been ruling for almost 40 years, his officials searched in the records of Hebron’s descendants and discovered that many of them were capable men who lived in the city of Jazer in the region of Gilead. One of these descendants of Hebron was Jeriah. He was a clan leader. 32 He and 2,700 of his relatives lived in that area. They included many capable men and clan leaders. King David gave them authority over the people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. They made sure that the people obeyed God and the king.
27 King David had separate divisions of 24,000 Israelite soldiers come on duty for a month at a time throughout the year. They performed the duties that he required. One officer had authority over each entire division, and other officers commanded groups of one thousand or one hundred soldiers or had other responsibilities.
2 Jashobeam son of Zabdiel commanded the division that served during the first month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division. 3 Jashobeam was a descendant of Perez. He served actively during the first month of the year, and he had authority over the commanders of all the other divisions.
4 Dodai the Ahohite commanded the division that served during the second month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division. Mikloth was another important officer in that division.
5 Benaiah, the son of the high priest Jehoiada, commanded the division that served during the third month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division. 6 Benaiah was one of David’s thirty greatest soldiers, and he was their leader. His son Ammizabad was an important officer in his division.
7 Asahel, Joab’s younger brother, commanded the division that served during the fourth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division. Asahel’s son Zebadiah became the commander after Asahel died.
8 Shamhuth the Izrahite commanded the division that served during the fifth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
9 Ira son of Ikkesh from the city of Tekoa commanded the division that served during the sixth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
10 Helez the Pelonite from the tribe of Ephraim commanded the division that served during the seventh month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
11 Sibbekai, a descendant of Zerah from the city of Hushah, commanded the division that served during the eighth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
12 Abiezer from the city of Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin commanded the division that served during the ninth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
13 Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from the city of Netophath, commanded the division that served during the tenth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
14 Benaiah, a descendant of Ephraim from the city of Pirathon commanded the division that served during the eleventh month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
15 Heldai, a descendant of Othniel from the city of Netophath, commanded the division that served during the twelfth month of each year. There were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
16 There was a leader for each of the tribes of Israel.
Eliezer son of Zicri was the leader of the tribe of Reuben.
Shephatiah son of Maacah was the leader of the tribe of Simeon.
17 Hashabiah son of Kemuel was the leader of the tribe of Levi.
Within the tribe of Levi, Zadok was the leader of Aaron’s descendants, the priests.
18 Elihu, one of David’s older brothers, was the leader of the tribe of Judah.
Omri son of Michael was the leader of the tribe of Issachar.
19 Ishmaiah son of Obadiah was the leader of the tribe of Zebulun.
Jerimoth son of Azriel was the leader of the tribe of Naphtali.
20 Hoshea son of Azaziah was the leader of the tribe of Ephraim.
Joel son of Pedaiah was the leader of the western half of the tribe of Manasseh.
21 Iddo son of Zechariah was the leader of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, in the region of Gilead.
Jaasiel son of Abner was the leader of the tribe of Benjamin.
22 Azarel son of Jeroham,was the leader of the tribe of Dan. These men were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
23 David wanted to count the soldiers in each tribe, but he told Joab not to count men who were 20 years old or younger. That was because Yahweh had promised that there would be very many people in Israel, just as there are very many stars in the sky. 24 Joab and his officers started to count the soldiers, but they did not finish. That was because Yahweh became angry with the Israelites for counting their soldiers. As a result, the book that records what happened during David’s reign does not record the number of soldiers.
25 Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king’s storehouses.
Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the rural areas, cities, villages, and towers. 26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the workers who farmed the land that belonged to the king.
Zabdi from the city of Shepham was in charge of storing the wine from the grapes that grew in the vineyards.
28 Baal Hanan from the city of Geder was in charge of the groves of olive and sycamore trees in the western foothills. Joash was in charge of storing the olive oil.
Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the cattle in the valleys.
30 Obil, a descendant of Ishmael, was in charge of the camels.
Jehdeiah from the city of Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys.
All of those officials were in charge of the things that belonged to King David.
32 David’s uncle Jonathan was a wise counselor for him and an official secretary.
Jehiel son of Hacmoni was the guardian of the king’s sons.
Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.
34 Jehoiada son of Benaiah became the king’s advisor after Ahithophel died. Later Abiathar became his advisor.
Joab was the commander of the entire army.
28 David summoned leaders from throughout Israel to come to Jerusalem. These included the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the military divisions that worked for him, and the commanders of 1,000 soldiers or 100 soldiers. They also included the officials who took care of his property and his livestock and the ones who took care of his sons. They also included his palace officials and the experienced soldiers who were his royal bodyguard.
2 King David stood up and said, “My fellow Israelites, listen to me. I wanted to build a temple to be a place where we would put Yahweh’s sacred chest. It is a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and us Israelites. He would be present in a special way in the temple. I was making plans to build this temple. 3 But God said to me, ‘You have fought many battles and have killed many people, so you will not be the one to build a temple to honor me.’
4 But Yahweh, the God of us Israelites, chose me from among my relatives to be the king of Israel and to start a lasting dynasty. First he chose Judah to be the leading tribe. Then, from the tribe of Judah, to which I belong, and from among my brothers, he chose me to be the king of Israel 5 Yahweh has given me many sons, and from among them, he has chosen my son Solomon to be the next king to rule his kingdom of Israel. 6 He told me, ‘I have chosen Solomon your son to be like a son to me. I will be like a father to him. So he will be the one who builds my temple and the courtyards around it. 7 If he continues to obey my laws and decrees as he is doing now, then I will ensure that he always continues to be the king.’
8 All of you Israelites, who are Yahweh’s people, are watching me. Yahweh our God is listening to us. So I now command you to obey all the commandments of Yahweh our God carefully. If you do that, you will continue to possess this good land, and you will enable your descendants always to live here.
9 And you, my son Solomon, must know God as I know him. You must be completely loyal to him and want to obey him. After all, he understands what everyone really wants and he knows all the plans that people are making. If you devote yourself to him, he will let you have a relationship with him as your God. But if you worship some other god, he will not keep helping you. 10 Yahweh has chosen you to build a temple for him. So consider carefully how you will do that. Be strong and do what he wants you to do.”
11 Then David gave his son Solomon written plans for the buildings of the temple, its porch, and its storerooms. He also gave him plans for the building’s upper areas and inner rooms, including the special place for the sacred chest. 12 David also gave him all the plans that Yahweh’s Spirit had enabled him to make for the temple courtyards and for an addition of rooms around the building. These would include storerooms for valuable things that belonged to the temple and for valuable things that people dedicated to Yahweh. 13 David also gave Solomon instructions about the work that various groups of priests and Levites would do at the temple. He also gave him plans for the articles they would use as they did that work at the temple. 14 David also told Solomon how much gold and silver to use for each of the bowls and tools that the priests and Levites would use for various tasks. 15 He also told him how much gold and silver to use for each of the different lampstands and lamps that the priests and Levites would use for various purposes. 16 He also told him how much gold to use to make the table on which the priests would put bread in rows and various other gold tables. He told him how much silver to use make the silver tables. 17 He told him how much pure gold to use to make the meat forks and bowls and cups. He told him how much gold and silver to use for each of the dishes. 18 He told him how much pure gold to use to make the altar for burning incense. He also told him how to make golden statues of winged creatures that would spread their wings over the sacred chest. The chest was a symbol of the agreement between Yahweh and the Israelites. It was as if Yahweh traveled by flying through the air riding on winged creatures like those.
19 David told Solomon, “Yahweh guided me to make these plans, and I have written them all down. He enabled me to understand all the details of his plan for the temple.”
20 David also told his son Solomon, “Be very brave and do this work. Yahweh our God, whom I worship, will help you, so do not be afraid at all. He will surely continue to help you until you finish making everything that is necessary for his temple. 21 Listen, the various groups of priests and Levites are ready to begin their work at God’s temple. There are many Israelites with special skills who want to help you build the temple and make the things necessary for it. The Israelite leaders and other people will help you do whatever you need to do.”
29 Then King David said to all the Israelites who had gathered there, “God has chosen my son Solomon to be the next king. But he is young, and he lacks experience. This temple will not be to honor a person but to honor Yahweh our God. So building it will be a great project. 2 I have used my power as king to collect materials to build a temple for my God. I have collected gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood for the things that workers will make from each of those materials. I have also collected large amounts of onyx for inlays, antimony and other valuable stones of various colors, and marble. 3 Beyond that, because I want my God to have a splendid temple, I am giving my own personal treasures of gold and silver. I am giving those in addition to everything I have collected for building his temple. 4 I am giving about 100 metric tons of gold from Ophir and about 230 metric tons of pure silver to cover the walls of the buildings, 5 Craftsmen can use this gold and silver to make the items that are necessary for the temple. Now I challenge the rest of you to contribute materials today for Yahweh’s temple.”
6 Then the leaders of the Israelite clans and tribes, the commanders of groups of a thousand or a hundred soldiers, and the commanders of the soldiers who performed duties for the king gave gifts willingly. 7 For the needs of the temple they gave 165 metric tons and 84 kilograms of gold, 330 metric tons of silver, 600 metric tons of bronze, and 3,300 metric tons of iron. 8 Many people who owned valuable stones donated them for Yahweh’s temple. Jehiel the Gershonite guarded the storeroom for these stones. 9 It made the people happy to give so generously. They were entirely willing to give those things to Yahweh. This also made King David very happy.
10 Then, in front of all the people there, David praised Yahweh. He said, “We praise you, Yahweh, the God whom our ancestor Israel worshiped. We will always praise you! 11 Everything throughout the creation belongs to you. So you, Yahweh, are very powerful. You are very glorious and majestic. You have made yourself the ruler of everything as king.
12 Wealth and honor come from you. You reign over everything. Because you are very powerful, you are able to make anyone great and strong. 13 So now we thank you and praise you, our God, because you are glorious.
14 But I and my people are not really able to give anything to you. Truly everything that we have comes from you. So we have given you things that we have received from you. 15 From your perspective, it is as if we have come to live on this earth only temporarily, just like our ancestors. The time that we live here on earth passes quickly, just as a shadow moves away quickly. After that, we will certainly die.
16 Yahweh our God, we have gathered all these things to build a temple so that people throughout the world will know how holy you are. But you first provided them, so we are really only giving them back to you. 17 My God, I know that you recognize what people are really thinking and feeling. It pleases you when people want to do what is right. I have given to you all these things because I truly wanted to. And now it has become clear that your people here also want to give generously to you. That makes me very happy.
18 Yahweh, you are the God whom our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped. Please help your people always to want to do things like this for you. Help them be loyal to you. 19 Please help my son Solomon genuinely to want to obey all of your laws. Help him to do everything necessary to build the temple for which I have provided all these things.”
20 Then David said to all the people who had gathered there, “Praise Yahweh our God!” So they all praised Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors had worshiped. They bowed down to the ground to honor Yahweh and to honor the king.
21 The next day, the people offered sacrifices to Yahweh. They brought many animals that the priests completely burned on the altar: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 young sheep. They also made offerings of wine, and they offered many other sacrifices for the Israelites to eat. 22 On that day, the people celebrated and had a feast in Yahweh’s honor. Then for the second time they declared that Solomon, David’s son, was their king. They poured olive oil on his head to show that Yahweh had chosen him as the king. They also poured olive oil on Zadok’s head to show that he was the high priest. 23 So Solomon ruled Israel as king, succeeding his father David. Solomon was successful, and he ruled over all of Israel. 24 All of King David’s officials and warriors, as well as his other sons, supported Solomon as their king.
25 Yahweh made people throughout Israel respect Solomon greatly. Yahweh gave him a magnificent kingdom in Israel. No king before him had had a kingdom like that.
26 David son of Jesse had also ruled all of Israel. 27 He ruled the Israelites for 40 years. He ruled for 7 years from the city of Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem. 28 He was very old when he died, and he had become very wealthy and famous. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 Listen! The records that the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad kept describe more things that happened throughout the reign of David. 30 Those records tell about his powerful reign and about the things that happened to him and to the Israelites and to the kingdoms of other countries while he was ruling Israel.
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