This book contains genealogies from Adam to the death of King David and the account of David reigning over all of Israel. We call this book

1 Chronicles

1

A list of genealogies

The descendants of Adam

1The first person God created was Adam. Adam’s son was Seth. Seth’s son was Enosh. Enosh’s son was Kenan. 2Kenan’s son was Mahalalel. Mahalalel’s son was Jared. Jared’s son was Enoch. 3Enoch’s son was Methuselah. Methusalah’s son was Lamech. Lamech’s son was Noah. 4Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The descendants of Japheth

5The sons (OR, descendants) of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

6The sons (OR, descendants) of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

7The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.

The descendants of Ham

8The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim (OR, Egypt), Put, and Canaan.

9The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.

The sons (OR, descendants) of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

10Another descendant of Cush was Nimrod. When he grew up, he became a mighty warrior on the earth.

11Mizraim (OR, Egypt) was the ancestor of the Lud people-group, the Anam people-group, the Lehab people-group, the Naphtuh people-group, 12the Pathrus people-group, the Casluh people-group, and the Caphtor people-group. The people of the Philistia region were descended from the Casluh people-group.

13Canaan’s first son was Sidon. He was also the ancestor of the Heth people-group, 14the Jebus people-group, the Amor people-group, the Girgash people-group, 15the Hiv people-group, the Ark people-group, the Sin people-group, 16the Arvad people-group, the Zemar people-group, and the Hamath people-group.

The descendants of Shem

17The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

18Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, who was the father of Eber.

19Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg which sounds like the word that means ‘divided’ because during the time that he lived, the people on the earth were divided into various language groups. Peleg’s younger brother was Joktan.

20Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 23Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab.

24The descendants of Shem, in order from him to Abraham, were Arphaxad, Shelah, 25Eber, Peleg, Reu, 26Serug, Nahor, Terah, 27and Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham.

The descendants of Abraham

28Abraham’s sons were Isaac and Ishmael.

29The son of Abraham’s slave wife Hagar was Ishmael. Ishmael’s twelve sons were Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

32After Abraham’s wife Sarah died, he took another wife named Keturah. The sons of Abraham and Keturah were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Jokshan’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.

33Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

The descendants of Esau

34The son of Abraham and his wife Sarah was Isaac, and Isaac’s sons were Esau and Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel.

35The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

36The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho (OR, Zephi), Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek.

37Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

The descendants of Seir

38Another descendant of Esau was Seir. His descendants lived in the Edom region. Seir’s sons were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

39Lotan’s sons were Hori and Homam, and Lotan’s sister was Timna.

40Shobal’s sons were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

Zibeon’s sons were Aiah and Anah.

41Anah’s son was Dishon.

1 Dishon’s sons were Hemdan (OR, Hamran), Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

42Ezer’s sons were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan (OR, Jaakan).

Dishan’s sons were Uz and Aran.

The kings of Edom

43These are the names of the kings that ruled the Edom region before any kings ruled over Israel:

Bela, the son of Beor, was king in Edom, and the name of the city in which he lived was Dinhabah.

44When Bela died, Jobab, the son of Zerah from Bozrah city, became the king.

45When Jobab died, Husham became the king. He was from the region where the Teman people-group lived.

46When Husham died, Hadad, the son of Bedad, became the king. He ruled in Avith city. Hadad’s army defeated the army of the Midian people-group in the Moab region.

47When Hadad died, Samlah became the king. He was from Masrekah town.

48When Samlah died, Shaul became the king. He was from Rehoboth city along the Euphrates river.

49When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan, the son of Achbor, became the king.

50When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad became the king. He was from Pau city. His wife’s name was Mehetabel; she was the daughter of Matred and the granddaughter of Me-Zahab. 51Then Hadad died.

The leaders of the clans of the Edom people-group were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 52Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 53Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 54Magdiel, and Iram.

2

The descendants of Jacob

1The sons of Jacob were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

The descendants of Judah

3Judah’s sons were Er, Onan, and Shelah. Their mother was the daughter of Shua from the Canaan people-group. When Judah’s oldest son Er grew up, he did something that Yahweh considered to be very wicked, so Yahweh caused him to die. 4Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar had twin boys named Perez and Zerah. So altogether Judah had five sons.

5The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

6Zerah had five sons: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda (OR, Dara).

7One of the sons of Zimri was Carmi. Carmi’s son Achan (OR, Achar) caused the people of Israel to experience much trouble, because he stole some of the things that had been devoted to Yahweh to be destroyed.

8Ethan’s son was Azariah.

9Hezron’s sons were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb (OR, Chelubai).

10Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was a leader of the tribe of Judah.

11Nahshon was the father of Salmon, who was the father of Boaz. 12Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse.

13Jesse’s oldest son was Eliab. His other sons were Abinadab, Shimea, 14Nethanel, Raddai, 15Ozem, and the youngest was David. 16Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. 17Abigail’s husband was Jether, a descendant of Ishmael, and their son was Amasa.

Descendants of Hezron

18Hezron’s younger son Caleb had two wives. One of them, Azubah, gave birth to three sons, —Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath. Their son was Hur. 20Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri was the father of Bezalel.

21When Hezron was 60 years old, he married [EUP] Makir’s daughter, who was the sister of Gilead. The son of Hezron and Makir was Segub. 22Segub was the father of Jair. Jair’s army controlled twenty-three cities in the region ruled by Gilead. 23But the armies of Geshur and Aram captured those towns controlled by Jair. They also captured Kenath city and the nearby towns; altogether they captured 60 towns. The people who lived there were all descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

24Shortly after Hezron died in Caleb-Ephrath town, his widow Abijah had a son Asshur; Asshur started Tekoa town.

Jerahmeel’s descendants

25Hezron’s oldest son was Jerahmeel. His sons were Ram, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. Jerahmeel’s oldest son was Ram. 26Jerahmeel had another wife named Atarah. Their son was Onam.

27The sons of Ram, Jerahmeel’s oldest son, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

28Onam’s sons were Shammai and Jada.

Shammai’s sons were Nadab and Abishur.

29Abishur’s wife was Abihail. The sons of Abishur and Abihail were Ahban and Molid.

30Nadab’s sons were Seled and Appaim. Seled did not have any children. 31Appaim’s son was Ishi; Ishi’s son was Sheshan. One of Sheshan’s daughters was Ahlai.

32Shammai’s younger brother was Jada. Jada’s sons were Jether and Jonathan. Jether did not have any children. 33Jonathan’s sons were Peleth and Zaza.

Those were the descendants of Jerahmeel.

34Sheshan did not have any sons; he had only daughters. He had a servant from Egypt whose name was Jarha. 35Sheshan allowed his daughter to marry Jarha, and their son was Attai.

36Attai was the father of Nathan.

Nathan was the father of Zabad.

37Zabad was the father of Ephlal.

Ephlal was the father of Obed.

38Obed was the father of Jehu.

Jehu was the father of Azariah.

39Azariah was the father of Helez.

Helez was the father of Eleasah.

40Eleasah was the father of Sismai.

Sismai was the father of Shallum.

41Shallum was the father of Jekamiah.

And Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.

Caleb’s descendants

42Jerahmeel’s younger brother was Caleb.

Caleb’s oldest son was Mesha. Mesha was the father of Ziph. Ziph was the father of Mareshah. Mareshah was the father of Hebron. 43Hebron’s sons were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 44Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. 45Shammai was the father of Maon. Maon was the father of Beth-Zur.

46Caleb had a slave wife who was named Ephah. Caleb and Ephah’s sons were Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran had a son whom he also named Gazez.

47Ephah’s father was Jahdai. Jahdai was the father of six sons: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.

48Caleb had another slave wife whose name was Maacah. Caleb and Maacah’s sons were Sheber, Tirhanah, 49Shaaph, and Sheva. Shaaph was the father of Madmannah. Sheva was the father of Macbenah and Gibea. Caleb’s daughter was Acsah.

50-51These people were also descendants of Caleb: Caleb had another wife whose name was Ephrathah. Their oldest son was Hur. Hur’s sons were Shobal, Salma, and Hareph. Shobal started Kiriath-Jearim city. Salma started Bethlehem town. Hareph started Beth-Gader town.

52Shobal’s descendants were Haroeh, and half of the Manahath people-group. 53His descendants also included these clans that lived in Kiriath-Jearim: Ithri, Put, Shumath, and Mishra. The Zorath and Eshtaol clans were descendants of the Mishra clan.

54Salma’s descendants in Bethlehem were the Netophath clan, the Atroth-Beth-Joab clan, the other half of the Manahath clan, and the Zor clan. 55Salma’s descendants also included the families at Jabez town who wrote and copied important documents. These were the Tirath clan, the Shimeath clan, and the Sucath clan. They were all from the Ken people-group who came from Hammath city, and who had married members of the family [MTY] of Rechab.

3

The sons of King David

1Six sons of King David were born in Hebron city.

His oldest son was Amnon, whose mother Ahinoam was from Jezreel city.

His next son was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel city.

2His next son was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, the king who ruled in Geshur town.

His next son was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith.

3The next son was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital.

His youngest son was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah.

4They were all born in Hebron, where David ruled for 7-1/2 years.

After that, David ruled in Jerusalem for 33 years. 5Many of David’s children were born in Jerusalem.

Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel, gave birth to four of his sons: Shammua (OR, Shimea), Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon.

6Nine other sons of David were also born there. They were Ibhar, Elishua (OR, Elishama), Eliphelet, 7Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

9In addition to all those sons, David’s slave wives also gave birth to sons. David also had one daughter whose name was Tamar.

The kings of Judah

10Solomon’s son was King Rehoboam.

Rehoboam’s son was King Abijah.

Abijah’s son was King Asa.

Asa’s son was King Jehoshaphat.

11Jehoshaphat’s son was King Jehoram (OR, Joram).

Jehoram’s son was King Ahaziah.

Ahaziah’s son was King Joash.

12Joash’s son was King Amaziah.

Amaziah’s son was King Azariah.

Azariah’s son was King Jotham.

13Jotham’s son was King Ahaz.

Ahaz’s son was King Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s son was King Manasseh.

14Manasseh’s son was King Amon.

Amon’s son was King Josiah.

15Josiah’s oldest son was Johanan. His other sons were Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Shallum.

16Jehoiakim’s sons were Jehoiachin (OR, Jeconiah) and Zedekiah.

Other descendants of King David after the people of Judah were exiled

17King Jehoiachin was captured and taken to Babylon. His sons were Shealtiel, 18Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

19Pedaiah’s sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei.

Two of Zerubbabel’s sons were Meshullam and Hananiah, and their sister was Shelomith. 20Zerubbabel’s five other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-Hesed.

21The descendants of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. Jeshaiah’s son was Rephaiah. Rephaiah’s son was Arnan. Arnan’s son was Obadiah. Obadiah’s son was Shecaniah.

22Shecaniah’s son was Shemaiah. Shemaiah’s five sons were Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat.

23Neariah’s three sons were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam.

24Elioenai’s seven sons were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani.

4

Other clans descended from Judah

1The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

2Shobal’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 Zorath people-group.

3-4The oldest son of Caleb and his wife Ephrathah was Hur. Hur was the one who started/founded Bethlehem town. His three sons were Etam, Penuel, and Ezer. Etam’s sons were Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. Their sister was Hazzelelponi. Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah.

5Hezron’s son Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives whose names were Helah and Naarah.

6The sons of Asshur and his wife Naarah were Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari.

7The sons of Ashhur and his wife Helah were Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, 8and Koz. Koz was the father of Anub, Hazzobebah, and the ancestor of the clans descended from Aharhel. Aharhel was the son of Harum.

9There was another descendant of Judah whose name was Jabez. He was more respected than his brothers were. His mother named him Jabez which means ‘pain’ because she said, “I was enduring much pain when I gave birth to him.” 10One day he prayed to God whom his fellow Israelis worshiped, saying, “Please greatly bless me and ◄enlarge my land/give me a lot of land/property►. Remain [IDM] with me, and do not allow anyone to harm me. If you do that for me, I will not have any pain.” And God did what Jabez requested him to do.

11Another descendant of Judah was Shuhah. His younger brother Kelub was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. 12Eshton was the father of Beth-Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah founded Nahash town, but their families lived in Recah town.

13-15Another descendant of Judah was Jephunneh. His son was Caleb. 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. The valley was named that because many of the people who lived there were ◄craftsmen/men who were experts in making things►.

16Another descendant of Judah was Jehallelel. His sons were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

17-18Another descendant of Judah was Ezrah. Ezrah’s sons 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. Ezrah also had a wife from Judah. She gave birth to Jered, Heber, and Jekuthiel. Jered was the father of (OR, founded the town of) Gedor, Heber was the father of (OR, founded the town of) Soco, and Jekuthiel was the father of (OR, founded the town of) Zanoah.

19Hodiah’s wife, who was Naham’s sister, bore two sons. One of them was the father of Keilah, the ancestor of the Gar people-group, and the other one was the father of Eshtemoa, the ancestor of the Maacath people-group.

20Another descendant of Judah was Shimon. Shimon’s sons were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon.

Another descendant of Judah was Ishi. His descendants were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

21One of Judah’s sons was Shelah. Shelah’s sons were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, the families of those who made things from linen at Beth-Ashbea, 22Jokim, and the men of Cozeba town, and Joash and Saraph, two men who married women from the Moab region and later lived in Bethlehem (OR, and ruled in Jashubi-Lehem). All their names and a record of what they did are written in very old scrolls. 23They made pottery for the king; some of them lived in Netaim town and some of them lived in Gederah town.

Descendants of Simeon

24Simeon’s sons were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul.

25Shaul’s son was Shallum. Shallum’s son was Mibsam. Mibsam’s son was Mishma.

26Mishma’s son was Hammuel. Hammuel’s son was Zaccur. Zaccur’s son was Shimei.

27Shimei had 16 sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had many children. So the descendants of Simeon never were as many as the descendants of his younger brother Judah. 28The descendants of Simeon lived in these cities and towns: Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-Shual, 29Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31Beth-Marcaboth, Hazar-Susim, Beth-Biri, and Shaaraim. They lived in those places until David became king. 32They also lived in villages near those towns: Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan. 33There were other villages where they lived, as far southwest as Baalath town. Those were the places where they lived, and their names, according to the family records.

34-38The men in the following list were the leaders of their clans: Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, Joel, and Jehu the 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 and the grandson of Allon, who was the son of Jedaiah, who was the son of Shimri, who was the son of Shemaiah.

Those families became very large/numerous. 39They went outside of Gedor town on the east side of the valley to look for pastureland for their flocks of sheep. 40They found good pastureland with plenty of grass. The place was peaceful and quiet.

Previously the descendants of Noah’s son Ham had lived there. 41But while Hezekiah was the king of Judah, the leaders of the tribe of Simeon came to Gedor and fought against the descendants of Ham and destroyed their tents. They also fought against the descendants of Meun who were living there, and they killed all of them. So now there are no descendants of Meun living there. The descendants of Simeon started to live there, because there was good pastureland there for their sheep.

42Ishi’s four sons Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel led 500 other descendants of Simeon and attacked the people who were living in the hilly area of the Edom region. 43They killed the few descendants of Amalek who were still alive. From that time until now, the descendants of Simeon have lived in the Edom region.

5

The descendants of Reuben

1Reuben was the oldest son of Jacob. Therefore, he should have received the special rights/privileges that belonged to firstborn sons. But he had sex with his father’s slave wife, so his father gave the rights if a firstborn son to the sons of Reubers younger brother Joseph. And in the family records, Reuben is not mentioned first, like the firstborn sons always are. 2Although Judah became more influential than his brothers, and a ruler of the tribe descended from him, Joseph’s family received the rights that belonged to firstborn sons. 3But Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son.

Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

4Another descendant of Reuben was Joel. Joel’s son was Shemaiah. Shemaiah’s son was Gog. Gog’s son was Shimei. 5Shimei’s son was Micah. Micah’s son was Reaiah. Reaiah’s son was Baal. 6Baal’s son was Beerah. Beerah was a leader of the tribe/descendants of Reuben. But Tiglath-Pileser the king of Assyria captured him and took him to Assyria.

7The names of these clans are listed here according to what is written in their family records.

The first name written was Jeiel. Then Zechariah, 8and then Bela. Bela was the son of Azaz, and Azaz was the son of Shema, and Shema was the son of Joel. Reuben’s clan was very large. Some of them lived near Aroer city as far north as Nebo town and Baal-Meon city. 9Some of them lived further east, as far as the edge of the desert south of the Euphrates River. They went there because they had a huge amount of cattle, with the result that there was not enough pastureland for them in the Gilead region.

10When Saul was king of Israel, Bela’s clan fought against the descendants of Hagar and defeated them. After that, Bela’s clan lived in the tents that the descendants of Hagar had lived in previously, in all the area east of the Gilead region.

The descendants of Gad

11The tribe of Gad lived near the tribe of Reuben; they lived in the Bashan region, all the way east to Salecah town. 12Joel was their chief; Shapham was his assistant; other leaders were Janai and Shaphat.

13Other members of the tribe belonged to seven clans, whose leaders were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. 14They were descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri’s son. Huri was Jaroah’s son. Jaroah was Gilead’s son. Gilead was Michael’s son. Michael was Jeshishai’s son. Jeshishai was Jahdo’s son. Jahdo was the son of Buz.

15Ahi was Abdiel’s son. Abdiel was Guni’s son. Ahi was the leader of their clan.

16The descendants of Gad lived in the towns in Gilead and Bashan regions, and on all the pastureland on the Sharon plain. 17All of those names were written in the records of the clans of Gad during the time that Jotham was the king of Judah and Jeroboam was the king of Israel.

The armies of the tribes that lived east of the Jordan River

18There were 44,760 soldiers from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. They all carried shields and swords and bows and arrows. They were all trained to fight well in battles. 19They attacked the descendants of Hagar and the people of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab cities. 20The men from those three tribes prayed to God during the battles, requesting him to help them. So he helped them, because they trusted in him. He enabled them to defeat [IDM] the descendants of Hagar and all those who were helping them. 21They took the animals that belonged to the descendants of Hagar: They took 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys. They also captured 100,000 people. 22But many descendants of Hagar were killed because God helped the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. After that, those three tribes lived in that area until the army of Babylonia captured them and took them away to Babylon.

The eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh

23There were many people who belonged to the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. They lived in the Bashan region east of the Jordan River, as far north as Baal-Hermon, Senir, and Hermon Mountain.

24Their clan leaders were Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were all strong, brave, and famous soldiers, and leaders of their clans. 25But they sinned against God, the one whom their ancestors had worshiped. They began to worship the gods/idols that the people of that region had worshiped, the people whom God had enabled them to destroy! 26So the God whom the Israelis worshiped cauaed Pul, the king of Assyria, to conquer those tribes. Pul’s other name was Tiglath-Pileser. His army captured the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, and took them to various places in Assyria: Halah, Habor, Hara and near the Gozan River. They have lived in those places from that time to the present time.

6

The descendants of Levi

1Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

2Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

3Amram’s children were Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses.

Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

4Eleazar was the father of Phinehas.

Phinehas was the father of Abishua.

5Abishua was the father of Bukki.

Bukki was the father of Uzzi.

6Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah.

Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth.

7Meraioth was the father of Amariah.

Amariah was the father of Ahitub.

8Ahitub was the father of Zadok.

Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz.

9Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah.

Azariah was the father of Johanan.

10Johanan was the father of Azariah. Azariah was a priest in the temple that Solomon commanded to be built in Jerusalem.

11Azariah was the father of Amariah.

Amariah was the father of Ahitub.

12Ahitub was the father of Zadok.

Zadok was the father of Shallum.

13Shallum was the father of Hilkiah.

Hilkiah was the father of Azariah.

14Azariah was the father of Seraiah.

Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak. 15Jehozadak was forced to leave his home when Yahweh sent King Nebuchadnezzar’s army [MTY] to capture many people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah and compel them to go to Babylonia.

16Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

17Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimei.

18Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

19Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.

Here is a list of the descendants of Levi, who became leaders of their clans.

20Gershon’s oldest son was Libni.

Libni’s son was Jehath.

Jehath’s son was Zimmah.

21Zimmah’s son was Joah.

Joah’s son was Iddo.

Iddo’s son was Zerah.

Zerah’s son was Jeatherai.

22Kohath’s other son was Amminadab.

Amminadab’s son was Korah.

Korah’s son was Assir.

23Assir’s son was Elkanah.

Elkanah’s son was Ebiasaph.

Ebiasaph’s son was Assir.

24Assir’s son was Tahath.

Tahath’s son was Uriel.

Uriel’s son was Uzziah.

Uzziah’s son was Shaul.

25Elkanah’s other sons were Amasai and Ahimoth.

26Ahimoth’s son was Elkanah.

Elkanah’s son was Zophai.

Zophai’s son was Nahath.

27Nahath’s son was Eliab.

Eliab’s son was Jeroham.

Jeroham’s son was Elkanah.

Elkanah’s son was Samuel.

28Samuel’s oldest son was Joel; his other son was Abijah.

29Merari’s oldest son was Mahli.

Mahli’s son was Libni.

Libni’s son was Shimei.

Shimei’s son was Uzzah.

30Uzzah’s son was Shimea.

Shimea’s son was Haggiah.

Haggiah’s son was Asaiah.

The temple musicians

31After the Sacred Chest was brought to Jerusalem, King David appointed some of the men who were descendants of Levi to be in charge of the music in the Sacred Tent where the people worshiped Yahweh. 32Those musicians first sang and played their instruments in the Sacred Tent, which was also called the Tent of Meeting, and they continued to do that until Solomon’s workers built the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem. In all their work, they obeyed the instructions that David had given them.

33Here is a list of the musicians and their sons:

From Kohath’s descendants there was Heman, the leader of the singers.

Heman was the son of Joel.

Joel was the son of Samuel.

34Samuel was the son of Elkanah.

Elkanah was the son of Jeroham.

Jeroham was the son of Eliel.

Eliel was the son of Toah.

35Toah was the son of Zuph.

Zuph was the son of Elkanah.

Elkanah was the son of Mahath.

Mahath was the son of Amasai.

36Amasai was the son of another man whose name was Elkanah.

Elkanah was the son of Joel.

Joel was the son of Azariah.

Azariah was the son of Zephaniah.

37Zephaniah was the son of Tahath.

Tahath was the son of Assir.

Assir was the son of Ebiasaph.

Ebiasaph was the son of Korah.

38Korah was the son of Izhar.

Izhar was the son of Kohath.

Kohath was the son of Levi.

Levi was the son of Jacob.

39Heman’s helper was Asaph. His group of singers stood at the right side of Heman.

Asaph was the son of Berekiah.

Berekiah was the son of Shimea.

40Shimea was the son of Michael.

Michael was the son of Baaseiah.

Baaseiah was the son of Malkijah.

41Malkijah was the son of Ethni.

Ethni was the son of Zerah.

Zerah was the son of Adaiah.

42Adaiah was the son of Ethan.

Ethan was the son of Zimmah.

Zimmah was the son of Shimei.

43Shimei was the son of Jahath.

Jahath was the son of Gershon,

and Gershon was the son of Levi.

44A group of singers from Merari’s family helped Heman and Asaph. They stood to the left of Heman. The leader of this group was Ethan, the son of Kishi.

Kishi was the son of Abdi.

Abdi was the son of Malluch.

45Malluch was the son of Hashabiah.

Hashabiah was the son of Amaziah.

Amaziah was the son of Hilkiah.

46Hilkiah was the son of Amzi.

Amzi was the son of Bani.

Bani was the son of Shemer.

47Shemer was the son of Mahli.

Mahli was the son of Mushi.

Mushi was the son of Merari,

and Merari was the son of Levi.

48The other descendants of Levi were appointed to do other work in the sacred tent, the place where the people worshiped Yahweh.

49Aaron and his descendants were the ones who placed on the altar the sacrifices that were to be burned completely, and they burned incense on another altar. Those sacrifices were in order that Yahweh would no longer be angry with the people of Israel for having sinned. Those men also did other work in the Very Holy Place in the sacred tent, obeying the instructions that Moses, who served God well, had given to them.

50These were the descendants of Aaron:

Aaron’s son was Eleazar.

Eleazar’s son was Phinehas.

Phinehas’s son was Abishua.

51Abishua’s son was Bukki.

Bukki’s son was Uzzi.

Uzzi’s son was Zerahiah.

52Zerahiah’s son was Meraioth.

Meraioth’s son was Amariah.

Amariah’s son was Ahitub.

53Ahitub’s son was Zadok,

and Zadok’s son was Ahimaaz.

Land for the descendants of Levi

54Here is a list of the places where Aaron’s descendants lived. Those who were descendants of Kohath were the first group to be allotted cities to live in.

55They were allotted Hebron city in Judah and the pastureland around the city, 56but the fields farther from the city and the villages near the city were given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.

57The descendants of Aaron who were descendants of Kohath were allotted Hebron, one of the cities to which people could flee and be protected if they accidentally killed someone. They also were allotted the towns and pastureland near Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, 58Hilen, Debir, 59Ashan, Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh. 60They were also allotted Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth cities from the tribe of Benjamin.

Altogether, these clans descended from Kohath were allotted 13 towns.

61The other clans descended from Kohath were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribe of Manasseh that lived west of the Jordan River.

62The descendants of Gershon were allotted 13 cities and towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lived in the Bashan region on the east side of the Jordan River.

63The descendants of Merari were allotted twelve cities and towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

64The leaders of Israel allotted those towns and the nearby pasturelands to the descendants of Levi. 65They also allotted to them the cities and towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin that were listed previously.

66Some of the descendants of Kohath were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim.

67They were allotted Shechem, which was one of the cities to which people could flee and be protected if they accidentally killed someone, along with the nearby pastureland in the hills of Ephraim. They were also allotted these towns and pastureland near them: Gezer, 68Jokmeam, Beth-Horon, 69Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon.

70The other descendants of Kohath were allotted Aner and Bileam towns and the nearby pastureland from the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lives west of the Jordan River.

71The descendants of Gershon, who were part of the tribe of Manasseh, lived east of the Jordan River. They were allotted the cities and towns and pastureland near them: Golan in the Bashan and Ashtaroth regions.

72From the tribe of Issachar they were allotted cities and towns and pastureland near Kedesh, Daberath, 73Ramoth, and Anem.

74From the tribe of Asher they were allotted cities and towns and pastureland near Mashal, Abdon, 75Hukok, and Rehob.

76And from the tribe of Naphtali they were allotted cities and towns and pastureland near Kedesh in the Galilee region, and Hammon and Kiriathaim towns.

77The other descendants of Levi, those descended from Merari, were allotted towns and pasturelands from the tribe of Zebulun near Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmono, and Tabor.

78-79From the tribe of Reuben they were allotted cities and towns and pastureland near Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath. The tribe of Reuben lived east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

80From the tribe of Gad, they were allotted cities and towns and pastureland near Ramoth in the Gilead region, the cities of Mahanaim, 81Heshbon, and Jazer.

7

The descendants of Issachar

1Issachar’s four sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

2Tola’s sons were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Samuel (OR, Shemuel). They were all leaders of the clans descended from them.

In the record of Tola’s descendants were the names of 22,600 men who served in the army during the time that David was the king of Israel.

3Uzzi’s son was Izrahiah. Izrahiah’s five sons were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. Izrahiah and his sons were all leaders of their clans.

4In the record of Izrahiah’s descendants were the names of 36,000 men who served in the army because they had many wives and children.

5In the records of the clans descended from Issachar were the names of 87,000 men who served in the army.

The descendants of Benjamin

6Some of the sons of Benjamin were Bela, Beker, and Jediael.

7Bela’s five sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were all leaders of clans.

In the records of the clans descended from Bela there were names of 22,034 men who served in the army.

8Beker’s sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth.

9In the records of the clans descended from Beker were the names of 20,200 men and leaders of the clans who served in the army.

10Jediael’s son was Bilhan. Bilhan’s sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11They were all leaders of clans descended from them.

There were 17,200 of them who served in the army.

12Shuppim and Huppim were descendants of Ir.

One of the descendants of Aher was Hushim.

Naphtali’s sons

13Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. They were all descendants of Jacob’s slave wife Bilhah.

Manasseh’s descendants

14This is a list of Manasseh’s descendants. Manasseh had a slave wife who was from Syria. She was the mother of Asriel and Makir.

Makir was the father of Gilead.

15Makir had two wives. They were from the clans of Huppim and Shuppim.

One of Makir’s wives was named Maacah.

Another descendant of Makir was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had no sons; he had only daughters.

16Makir’s wife Maacah gave birth to two sons whom she named Peresh and Sheresh. Sheresh’s sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17Ulam’s son was Bedan.

All those men were considered to be descendants of Gilead, who was the son of Makir and grandson of Manasseh.

18Makir’s sister name was Hammoleketh who was the mother of Ishdod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.

19One son of Gilead was Shemida, whose sons were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Descendants of Ephraim

20This is a list of the descendants of Ephraim.

One son of Ephraim’s was Shuthelah.

Shuthelah’s son was Bered.

Bered’s son was Tahath.

Tahath’s son was Eleadah.

Eleadah’s son was also named Tahath.

21Tahath’s son was Zabad.

Zabad’s son was Shuthelah.

Ephraim’s other sons, Ezer and Elead, went to Gath city to steal some cows and sheep. But they were both killed by some of the men from that city. 22Their father Ephraim cried/mourned for them for many days, and his family came to comfort him. 23Then he and his wife had sex [EUP] again, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah which resembles the word ‘trouble’ because of the trouble that his family had experienced. 24Ephraim’s daughter was Sheerah. Her workers built three towns: Lower Beth-Horon, Upper Beth-Horon, and Uzzen-Sheerah.

25Another son of Ephraim was Rephah.

Rephah’s son was Resheph.

Resheph’s son was Telah.

Telah’s son was Tahan.

26Tahan’s son was Ladan.

Ladan’s son was Ammihud.

Ammihud’s son was Elishama.

27Elishama’s son was Nun.

Nun’s son was Joshua, the man who led the Israelis after Moses died.

28This is a list of the cities and areas where the descendants of Ephraim lived:

Bethel and the nearby villages;

Naaran to the east;

Gezer to the west and the nearby villages; and

Shechem and the nearby villages. Those villages extended north as far as Ayyah and the nearby villages.

29Along the border of the area where the descendants of Manasseh lived were these towns: Beth-Shan, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, and the nearby villages.

The people who lived in all those places were descendants of Jacob’s son Joseph.

The descendants of Asher

30Asher’s sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.

31Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel.

Malkiel was the father of Birzaith

32Heber was the father of Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. Their sister was Shua.

33Japhlet’s sons were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath.

34Japhlet’s younger brother was Shomer. Shomer’s sons were Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.

35Shomer’s younger brother was Hotham (OR, Helem). Hotham’s sons were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.

36Zophah’s sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran whose other name was Jether, and Beera.

38Jether’s sons were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.

39Another descendant of Asher was Ulla, whose sons were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.

40All those men were descendants of Asher, and they were all leaders of their clans. They were brave warriors and excellent leaders. In the record of the clans that are descended from Asher are the names of 26,000 men who served in the army.

8

Another list of descendants of Benjamin

1Benjamin had five sons: Bela, Ashbel, Aharah, 2Nohah, and Rapha.

3The sons of Bela were Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.

6One of Gera’s sons was Ehud. The descendants of Ehud were leaders of their clans who lived in Geba city, but they were forced to move to Manahath city. 7Ehud’s sons/descendants 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.

8-11Another descendant of Benjamin was Shaharaim. He and his wife Hushim had two sons, Abitub and Elpaal. In the Moab region, Shaharaim divorced Hushim and his other wife Baara. Then he married a woman whose name was Hodesh, and they had seven sons: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. They were all leaders of their clans.

12-13Elpaal’s sons were Eber, Misham, Shemed, Beriah, and Shema. Shemed built the towns of Ono and Lod, and the nearby villages. Beriah and Shema were leaders of their clans, who lived in Aijalon city. They forced the people who lived in Gath city to leave their city.

14-16Beriah’s sons were Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, and Joha.

17Other descendants of Elpaal were Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab.

19-21Another descendant of Benjamin was Shimei. Shimei’s descendants included Jakim, Zicri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath.

22Shashak’s sons were Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23Abdon, Zicri, Hanan, 24Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25Iphdeiah, and Penuel.

26-27Another descendant of Benjamin was Jeroham, whose sons were Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zicri.

28In the records of these clans it is written that all those men were leaders of their clans, and they lived in Jerusalem.

29Another descendant of Benjamin was Jeiel. He lived in Gibeon town, and he was the leader there. His wife was Maacah. 30His oldest son was Abdon. His other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 31Gedor, Ahio, Zeker, 32and Mikloth. Mikloth was the father of Shimeah. All these sons of Jeiel also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

33Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of King Saul.

Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

34Jonathan’s son was Merib-Baal.

Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.

35Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.

36Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah.

Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri.

Zimri was the father of Moza.

37Moza was the father of Binea.

The son of Binea was Raphah.

The son of Raphah was Eleasah.

The son of Eleasah was Azel.

38Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.

39Azel’s younger brother was Eshek.

Eshek’s oldest son was Ulam. His other sons were Jeush and Eliphelet.

40Ulam’s sons were brave warriors and ◄good archers/able to shoot arrows well►. Altogether they had 150 sons and grandsons.

Those were the descendants of Benjamin.

9

1The names of all the people of Israel were listed/written with the names of their clans, and that information was written in the scroll/book named ‘The Record of the Kings of Israel’.

The people in Jerusalem

Many of the people of Judah were captured and forced to go to Babylon. That happened because they did not faithfully do what was pleasing to God. 2The first people who returned to Judah 70 years later and lived in their own land and in their own cities and towns were some Israeli priests, other descendants of Levi, and men who worked in the temple.

3Other people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh also returned to Judah and lived in Jerusalem. This is a list of those people of the tribe of Judah:

4Uthai the son of Ammihud. Ammihud was the son of Omri; Omri was the son of Imri; Imri was the son of Bani; Bani was a descendant of Perez; Perez was the son of Judah.

5Asaiah and his sons were descendants of Shelah. Asaiah was the oldest son in his family.

6Jeuel and others of his relatives in Zerah’s clan. There were 690 people in this clan.

7From the tribe of Benjamin, Sallu, the son of Meshullam. Meshullam was the son of Hodaviah; Hodaviah was the son of Hassenuah.

8Ibneiah the son of Jeroham.

Elah the son of Uzzi. Uzzi was the son of Micri.

Meshullam the son of Shephatiah. Shephatiah was the son of Reuel; Reuel was the son of Ibnijah.

9In other records of the people descended from Benjamin, there are the names of 956 people who were living in Jerusalem. All these were leaders of their clans.

10Some of the priests who returned to Judah were:

Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin,

11and Azariah who was the son of Hilkiah.

Hilkiah who was the son of Meshullam;

Meshullam who was the son of Zadok,

Zadok who was the son of Meraioth;

Meraioth who was the son of Ahitub;

Ahitub who supervised the temple guards;

12Adaiah who was the son of Jeroham;

Jeroham who was the son of Pashhur;

Pashhur who was the son of Malchijah;

Maasai who was the son of Adiel;

Adiel who was the son of Jahzerah;

Jahzerah who was the son of Meshullam;

Meshullam who was the son of Meshillemith;

Meshillemith who was the son of Immer.

13Altogether there were 1,760 priests who returned to Judah. They were leaders of their clans, and they all were responsible for doing work in the temple of God.

14From the descendants of Levi who returned to Judah there was Shemaiah the son of Hasshub.

Hasshub was the son of Azrikam;

Azrikam was the son of Hashabiah;

Hashabiah was a descendant of Levi’s youngest son Merari.

15Other descendants of Levi who returned to Judah were Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Mica.

Mica was the son if Zicri;

Zicri was the son of Asaph.

16There was also Obadiah the son of Shemaiah.

Shemaiah was the son of Galal.

Galal was the son of Jeduthun.

There was also Berekiah the son of Asa.

Asa was the son of Elkanah, who lived in one of the villages where the Netophath people-clan lived.

17From the descendants of Levi who returned to Judah who guarded the temple gates there were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and some of their relatives. Shallum was their leader. 18Those gatekeepers from the tribe of Levi stood at the King’s Gate on the east side of the city.

19Shallum was the son of Kore.

Kore was the son of Ebiasaph.

Ebiasaph was the son of Korah.

Shallum and his relatives were gatekeepers, and they were responsible to guard the gates of the Sacred Tent of Yahweh, like their ancestors had done.

20Previously Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, had supervised the gatekeepers, and Yahweh ◄was with/helped► Phinehas.

21Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

22Altogether, there were 212 men who were chosen to guard the gates. Their names were written in the records of the clans in their villages. King David and the prophet Samuel appointed/chose those men because those men ◄were dependable/always did what they were told to do►. 23The work of those gatekeepers and their descendants was to guard the entrances of the Sacred Tent of Yahweh. That was before the temple was built to replace the Sacred Tent. 24There were gatekeepers on each of the four sides of the Sacred Tent. 25Sometimes it was necessary for the relatives of the gatekeepers who lived in those villages to come and help them. Each time some of them came, they helped the gatekeepers for seven days. 26There were four descendants of Levi who worked every day, and they supervised the gatekeepers. They also took care of the rooms and treasures in the Sacred Tent of God. 27They remained awake all during the night to guard the Sacred Tent, and each morning they opened the gates.

28Some of the gatekeepers took care of the articles that were used in worship. They also took care of the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices that were used in the sacrifices. 29Other gatekeepers were appointed to take care of the other things in the Sacred Tent. 30But some of the priests had the work of mixing the spices. 31There was a descendant of Levi named Mattithiah, the oldest son of Shallum, who was a descendant of Korah. He ◄was very dependable/always did what he was told to do►, so they gave him {he was given} the work of baking the bread that was used in the offerings on the altar. 32Some of the gatekeepers who were descended from Kohath prepared the freshly baked loaves of sacred bread that were placed on the table inside the Sacred Tent every Sabbath/rest day.

33Some of the descendants of Levi were musicians who worked in the Sacred Tent. The leaders of those families stayed/slept in the rooms of the Sacred Tent. They did not do any other work in the Sacred Tent because they were responsible to serve as musicians day and night.

34Those are the names of the leaders of the clans descended from Levi. Their names were written in the records of the clans. They all lived in Jerusalem.

The ancestors and descendants of King Saul

35One of the descendants of Benjamin, Jeiel, lived in Gibeon city. He was the city leader. His wife’s name was Maacah.

36His oldest son was Abdon.

His other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth.

38Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. Jeiel’s family lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

39Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of King Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

40Jonathan’s son was Merib-Baal. Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.

41Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz.

42Ahaz was the father of Jadah (OR, Jarah). Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri.

Zimri was the father of Moza. 43Moza was the father of Binea.

The son of Binea was Rephaiah. The son of Rephaiah was Eleasah. The son of Eleasah was Azel.

44Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.

10

The death of King Saul

1The army of Philistia again fought against the Israelis. The Israeli soldiers ran away from them, and many Israelis were killed {the soldiers of Philistia killed many Israelis} on Gilboa Mountain. 2The soldiers of Philistia caught up with Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3The fighting was very fierce around Saul, and the ◄archers/men who shot arrows► shot Saul and wounded him severely.

4Saul said to the man who was carrying his weapons, “Take out your sword and kill me with it, in order that these heathen Philistines will not be able to injure me further and make fun of me while I am dying.” But the man who was carrying Saul’s weapons was terrified and refused to do that. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it and died.

5When the man carrying his weapons saw that Saul was dead, he also threw himself on his own sword and died. 6So Saul and three of his sons all died, and none of his descendants ever became king.

7When the Israelis who were living in the valley saw that their army had run away and that Saul and his three sons were dead, they left their towns and ran away. Then the soldiers from Philistia came and ◄occupied/lived in► those towns.

8The next day, when the Philistines came to take away the weapons of the dead Israeli soldiers, they found the corpses of Saul and his three sons on Gilboa Mountain. 9They took the clothes off Saul’s corpse and cut off his head and took it and Saul’s armor. 10Then they sent messengers throughout their land, to proclaim the news throughout their own area, to their idols and to the other people. They put Saul’s armor in the temple where their idols were, and they hung Saul’s head in the temple of their god Dagon.

11All the people who lived in Jabesh in the Gilead region heard what the Philistines had done to Saul’s corpse. 12So the bravest men/soldiers of Jabesh went and got the corpses of Saul and his sons and brought them back to Jabesh. They buried their bones under a large tree in Jabesh. Then the people of Jabesh ◄fasted/abstained from eating food► for seven days.

13Saul died because he did not faithfully obey what Yahweh told him to do. He even went to a woman who talks to the spirits of dead people and asked her what he should do, 14instead of asking Yahweh what he should do. So Yahweh caused him to die, and he appointed David, the son of Jesse, to be the king of Israel.

11

David became the king

1Then the people of Israel came to David at Hebron town and said to him, “Listen, we have the same ancestors [IDM] that you have. 2In the past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led our Israeli soldiers in our battles. You are the one to whom Yahweh our God promised, ‘You will be the leader [MET] of my people; you will be their king.’”

3So all the Israeli elders came to David at Hebron. And David made a sacred agreement with them while Yahweh was listening. They anointed him with olive oil to set him apart to be the king of the Israeli people. That is what Yahweh had previously told the prophet Samuel would happen.

David’s men captured Jerusalem

4David and all the Israeli soldiers [SYN] went to Jerusalem. At that time, Jerusalem was called Jebus, and the people who lived there were the Jebus people-group. 5Those people said to David, “Your soldiers will not be able to get inside our city!” But David’s soldiers captured the city, even though it had strong walls around it, and since then it has been called ‘The City of David’.

6What happened was this: David said to his soldiers, “The one who leads our soldiers to attack the Jebus people-group will become the commander of all my army.” Joab, the son of Zeruiah, led the soldiers, so he became the commander of all the army.

7After they captured the city which had strong walls around it, David moved there. That is why they named it ‘The City of David’. 8David’s workers rebuilt the city, starting where the land was filled in and extending to the wall that was around the city. Joab’s men repaired the other parts of the city. 9David became more and more powerful/influential, because the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels was with/helping him.

The list of David’s most mighty warriors

10Yahweh had promised that David would become the king. And all the Israeli people ◄were happy that David was/supported David as► their king.

There were many soldiers/warriors who helped David’s kingdom to remain strong. 11This is a list of the leaders of David’s most mighty warriors:

Jashobeam was from the Hacmon clan. He was one of the leaders of David’s most powerful soldiers. One time he fought against 300 enemies and killed them all with his spear.

12Another one was Eleazar, who was the son of Dodo from the clan of Ahoh. 13One day he was with David at Pas Dammim when the soldiers of Philistia gathered there for the battle. There was a field of barley there. At first the Israeli soldiers ran away from the soldiers of Philistia, 14but then David and Eleazar stopped in the middle of the field and fought to defend it and killed many of the soldiers of Philistia. Yahweh enabled them to win a great victory on that day.

15One time three of David’s thirty most mighty warriors came to David when he was camping next to the huge rock outside the cave near Adullam. At that same time, the army of Philistia had camped in the Rephaim Valley. 16David was in a fortress, and some of the soldiers of Philistia were occupying Bethlehem. 17One day David was very thirsty and said, “I wish that someone would bring me some water from the well near the gate at Bethlehem!” 18So those three most outstanding warriors forced their way through the camp of Philistia soldiers and drew some water from the well, and brought it to David. But he would not drink it. Instead, he poured it out on the ground to be an offering to Yahweh. 19He said, “Yahweh, it would certainly not be right for me to drink this water! That would be like [RHQ] drinking the blood of these men who were willing/ready to die for me!” So he refused to drink it.

That was one of the things that those three most outstanding warriors did.

20Joab’s younger brother Abishai was the leader of the 30 most mighty warriors. One time Abishai fought 300 enemy soldiers with his spear and killed them. 21So he became as famous as those three most outstanding warriors. He became their commander, even though he was not one of those three men.

22Jehoiada’s son Benaiah was a brave soldier from Kabzeel town who did heroic deeds. He killed two of the best warriors from the Moab people-group. One day he went down into a pit when snow was falling on the ground and killed a lion there. 23He also killed a soldier from Egypt who was ◄7-1/2 feet/2.3 meters► tall. The soldier from Egypt carried a spear that was as long as a weaver’s rod. Benaiah had only a club, but he grabbed the other man’s spear and killed him with it. 24Those are some of the things that Benaiah did. So he became as famous as the three mighty warriors. 25He was more honored than the other members of the group of thirty most mighty warriors, but he did not become a member of the group of three most outstanding warriors. David appointed him to be the leader of his bodyguards.

26These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:

Asahel, the younger brother of Joab;

Elhanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem;

27Shammah, from the Harod clan;

Helez, from the Pelon clan;

28Ira, the son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa town;

Abiezer, from Anathoth city;

29Sibbecai, from Hushah’s clan;

Ilai from Ahoh’s clan;

30Maharai, from Netophah town;

Heled, the son of Baanah, also from Netophah town;

31Ithai, the son of Ribai, from Gibeah town in the land that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin;

Benaiah, from Pirathon town;

32Hurai, from the valleys near Gaash Mountain;

Abiel from the clan of Arabah;

33Azmaveth, from Baharum town;

Eliahba, from Shaalbon town;

34The sons of Hashem from the Gizon clan;

Jonathan the son of Shagee from the Harar town/clan;

35Ahiam the son of Sharar/Sacar, from Harar town/clan;

Eliphal the son of Ur;

36Hepher from the Mekerath clan;

Ahijah from the Pelon clan/town;

37Hezro from Carmel city;

Naarai the son of Ezbai;

38Joel the younger brother of Nathan;

Mibhar the son of Hagri;

39Zelek from the Ammon people-group;

Naharai, the man who carried Joab’s weapons, from Beeroth town;

40Ira and Gareb from Jattir town;

41Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, from the Heth people-group;

Zabad the son of Ahlai;

42Adina the son of Shiza, a leader from the tribe of Reuben, who had thirty soldiers with him;

43Hanan the son of Maacah;

Joshaphat from Mithna town/clan;

44Uzzia from Ashterath town;

Shama and Jeiel, the sons of Hotham, from Aroer city;

45Jediael the son of Shimri

and his younger brother Joha, from Tiz town/clan;

46Eliel from Mahavah town/clan;

Jeribai and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam;

Ithmah from the Moab region;

47Eliel and Obed,

and Jaasiel from Zobah town/clan.

12

Some warriors joined David

1David went to Ziklag town to escape from King Saul. While he was there, many warriors came and joined him, and they helped him when he fought battles. 2They carried bows and arrows. They were able to shoot arrows and to sling stones. They could use either their right arms or their left arms to do that. They were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.

3Their leader was Ahiezer. Next in command was Joash. They were both sons of Shemaah from Gibeah city. These are the names of some of those warriors:

Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth;

Beracah;

Jehu from Anathoth town;

4Ishmaiah from the Gibeon city, who was a leader of the thirty mighty warriors;

Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah town;

5Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph town;

6Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam, who were descendants of Korah;

7Joelah and Zebadiah, who were sons of Jeroham, from Gedor town.

8Some men from the tribe of Gad east of the Jordan River joined David when he was at his fortress in the caves in the desert. They were brave warriors who were trained for fighting battles and able to use shields and spears well. They [SYN] were as fierce as [SIM, MTY] lions, and they could run as fast as [HYP, SIM] deer/gazelles on the hills/mountains.

9Ezer was their leader.

Next in command was Obadiah.

Next was Eliab.

10Next was Mishmannah.

Next was Jeremiah.

11Next was Attai.

Next was Eliel.

12Next was Johanan.

Next was Elzabad.

13Next was another man whose name was Jeremiah.

The last was Macbannai.

14Those men from the tribe of Gad were all army officers. Some of them commanded 1,000 soldiers, and some of them commanded 100 soldiers. 15They crossed to the west side of the Jordan River during March, at the time of the year when the river was flooded. They chased from there all the people who lived in the valleys on both sides of the river.

16Some other men from the tribe of Benjamin and from Judah also came to David in his fortress. 17David went out of the cave to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to help me, I am eager to have you join with me. But if you have come to enable my enemies to capture me, even though I [SYN] have not done anything to harm you, I hope/wish that the God whom our ancestors ◄worshiped/belonged to► will see it and condemn/punish you.”

18Then God’s Spirit came upon Amasai, who was another leader of the thirty greatest warriors, and he said,

“David, we want to be with you;

you who are the son of Jesse, we will join you.

We know that things will go very well [DOU] for you and for those who are with you,

because your God is helping you.”

19So David welcomed those men, and he appointed them to be leaders of his soldiers. Some men from the tribe of Manasseh also joined David when he went with the soldiers of Philistia to fight against Saul’s army. But David and his men did not really help the army of Philistia. After the leaders of Philistia talked about David and his soldiers, they sent David away. They said, “If David joins his master Saul again, we will all be killed {his army will kill all of us}!” 20When David went to Ziklag, these were the men from the tribe of Manasseh who went with him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, another man whose name was Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each of them had been a commander of 1,000 men in Saul’s army. 21They were all brave soldiers, and they helped David to fight against the groups of men who roamed throughout the country, robbing people. So those men became commanders in David’s army. 22Every day more men joined David’s men, and his army became large, like [SIM] the army of God (OR, a very huge army).

Others joined David at Hebron

23These are the numbers of soldiers who were ready for battle who joined David at Hebron city. They came to help him to become the king of Israel to replace Saul, as Yahweh had promised would happen.

24There were 6,800 men from Judah, who carried shields and spears.

25There were 7,100 men from the tribe of Simeon. They were all strong warriors trained to fight battles.

26There were 4,600 men from the tribe of Levi.

27Jehoiada, who was a leader descended from Aaron, was in that group of descendants of Levi, and there were 3,700 men with him.

28Zadok, a strong young soldier, was also in that group, and there were 22 other leaders from his clan who came with him.

29There were 3,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin who were Saul’s relatives. Most of them had previously wanted one of Saul’s descendants to be the king.

30There were 20,800 men from the tribe of Ephraim who were all brave warriors and trained for fighting battles and famous in their own clans.

31There were 18,000 men from the half of the tribe of Manasseh that lived west of the Jordan River. They were all chosen to go and help David become the king.

32There were 200 men who were leaders from the tribe of Issachar, along with their relatives. Those leaders always knew what the Israelis should do, and they knew the right time to do it.

33There were 55,000 men from the tribe of Zebulun. They were all experienced warriors and knew how to use all kinds of weapons well. They were completely loyal to David.

34There were 1,000 officers from the tribe of Naphtali. With them were 37,000 soldiers, each carrying shields and spears.

35There were 28,600 soldiers from the tribe of Dan, all trained to fight battles.

36There were 47,000 experienced soldiers from the tribe of Asher, all trained to fight battles.

37There were also 120,000 soldiers from the area east of the Jordan River who joined David. They were from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh. They had all kinds of weapons.

38All those men were soldiers who volunteered to be in David’s army. They came to Hebron wanting very much to enable David to be the king of all of the Israeli people. 39The men spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, because their families had given them food to take with them. 40Also, their fellow Israelis came from as far away as the area where the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali lived, bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought a lot of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle and sheep. And throughout Israel, the people were very joyful.

13

Bringing back the Sacred Chest

1One day David talked with all his army officers. Some of them were commanders of 100 soldiers and some were commanders of 1,000 soldiers. 2Then he summoned the other Israeli leaders and said to all of them, “If it seems to you to be a good thing for us to do, and if it is what Yahweh our God wants, let’s send a message to our fellow Israelis in all the areas of our country, including the priests and other descendants of Levi who are living among them in their towns and in the nearby pasturelands, to come and join us, 3because we want to bring the Sacred Chest of our God back to us. While Saul was the king, we did not go to God’s presence to ask him what we should do.” 4All the people agreed with David, because they all thought that it was the right thing to do.

5So David gathered all the Israeli people, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo-Hamath town in the north, and told them that he wanted them to help bring the Sacred Chest of God back to Jerusalem from Kiriath-Jearim city. 6David went with all the Israeli people to Baalah town, which is another name for Kiriath-Jearim, to get the Sacred Chest. The people believed that God ruled from between the statues of winged creatures that was above the lid of the Sacred Chest [MTY].

7The people put the Sacred Chest on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the oxen that were pulling the cart. 8David and all the Israeli people were celebrating in God’s presence with all their strength. They were singing and playing lyres, harps, tambourines, and cymbals, and blowing trumpets.

9But when David’s men came to the place where Kidon threshed grain, the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah reached out with his hand to prevent the Sacred Chest from falling off the cart. 10Yahweh immediately became very angry with Uzzah, and he caused Uzzah to suddenly die there because he had put his hand on the Sacred Chest, and Yahweh had commanded that only the descendants of Levi who help the priests should touch the Sacred Chest.

11David was angry because Yahweh had punished [MTY] Uzzah. And now that place where Uzzah died is called ‘The Punishment of Uzzah’.

12That day, David was afraid of God. He asked himself, “◄How can I bring God’s Sacred Chest to my city?/I am afraid to bring God’s Sacred Chest to my city.►” [RHQ] 13So the men with David did not take the Sacred Chest to Jerusalem. Instead, they took it to the house of Obed-Edom, who was from Gath city. 14The Sacred Chest stayed with Obed-Edom’s family in his house for three months. And during that time Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom’s family and everything that he owned.

14

David’s palace and his family

1One day Hiram, the king of Tyre city, sent some messengers to David to talk about making an agreement between their countries. Then Hiram sent cedar logs, bricklayers, and carpenters to build a palace for David. 2When that happened, David knew that Yahweh had truly caused him to be the king of Israel, and that he had caused his kingdom to be greatly respected. Yahweh did this because he loved his Israeli people.

3David married more women in Jerusalem, and those women gave birth to more sons and daughters for him. 4The names of the children that were born to him there in Jerusalem are Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 5Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, 6Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

David’s army defeated the army of Philistia

8When the army of Philistia heard that David has been appointed to be king of all of Israel, they came to capture him. But David heard that they were coming, so he and his soldiers marched out to fight against them. 9The army of Philistia had attacked the people in the Rephaim Valley southwest of Jerusalem and had robbed them. 10David asked God, “Should my men and I go and attack the army of Philistia? If we go, will you enable us to defeat [IDM] them?”

Yahweh replied, “Yes, go, and I will enable you to defeat [IDM] them.”

11So David and his men went up to a town where the soldiers of Philistia were staying and defeated them. Then David said, “God has enabled me and my soldiers to overwhelm my enemies like [MET] a flood.” So they named that place {That place is called} ‘Baal-Perazim’ which means ‘Yahweh breaks through’. 12As the soldiers of Philistia fled, they left their idols there. So David commanded his soldiers to burn those idols.

13But soon the army of Philistia attacked the people in that valley again. 14So again David prayed to God to ask him what he should do, and God replied, saying “Do not attack the army of Philistia from the front. Instead, go around them, and attack them from the rear in front of the balsam trees. 15When you hear something in the tops of the balsam trees that sounds like soldiers marching, attack them. I, God, will have gone ahead of you to enable you to defeat the army of Philistia.” 16So David did what God commanded him to do, and he and his army defeated the army of Philistia, all the way from Gibeon city in the east to Gezer city in the west.

17So David became famous in all the nearby countries, and Yahweh caused the leaders of all the nearby nations to be afraid of him.

15

They brought the Sacred Chest to Jerusalem

1David commanded his workers to build some houses for him in Jerusalem. He also told them to set up a tent in which to put the Sacred Chest. 2He said, “Only the descendants of Levi are permitted to carry God’s Sacred Chest, because they are the ones whom God chose to carry it and to serve him forever.”

3David summoned all the people of Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted the Sacred Chest of Yahweh to be put in the place that he had made for it. 4He summoned the descendants of Aaron, who was the first Supreme Priest, and the other descendants of Levi.

5120 descendants of Kohath, who was Levi’s second son, came, with Uriel their leader.

6There were 220 descendants of Merari, Levi’s third son, who came, with Asaiah their leader.

7There were 130 descendants of Gershon, Levi’s first son, who came, with Joel their leader.

8There were 200 people from Elizaphan’s clan who came, with Shemaiah their leader.

9There were 80 people from Hebron’s clan who came, with Eliel their leader.

10And there were 112 people from Uzziel’s clan who came, with Amminadab their leader.

11David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and these other descendants of Levi: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12David said to them, “You are the leaders of the clans descended from Levi. You and the other descendants of Levi must purify yourselves, in order to be able to do this special work for Yahweh. You must bring the Sacred Chest of Yahweh, the God of us Israelis, up to the place that I have made for it here in Jerusalem. 13The first time that we tried to bring it, we did not ask Yahweh how we should carry it {it should be carried}. You descendants of Levi were not the ones who carried it, so Yahweh our God punished us.”

14Then the priests and the other descendants of Levi performed the rituals to purify themselves, in order that it would be proper for them to do the work of carrying the Sacred Chest of Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people. 15The descendants of Levi inserted the poles into the rings on the Sacred Chest so that with them, they could carry the Sacred Chest on their shoulders, like Moses had commanded, and like Yahweh had said that they should.

16David told the leaders of the descendants of Levi to appoint some of their relatives to sing joyful songs and play lyres, harps, and cymbals while they were carrying the Sacred Chest.

17So they appointed Heman and his relatives Asaph and Ethan. Heman was the son of Joel; Asaph was the son of Berekiah. Ethan, a descendant of Merari, was Kushaiah’s son. 18There was also another group of descendants of Levi who were appointed: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and two of the Sacred Tent gatekeepers, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.

19Heman, Asaph and Ethan sang, and also played bronze cymbals. 20Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played lyres. 21Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah played harps. 22Kenaniah, the leader of the descendants of Levi, directed the singing because he was very skilled at doing that.

23Berekiah and Elkanah were two of the men who guarded the Sacred Chest. 24The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were appointed to blow trumpets in front of the Sacred Chest. Obed-Edom and Jehiah also guarded the Sacred Chest.

25David and the Israeli leaders and the officers who commanded 1,000 soldiers went to bring the Sacred Chest back from Obed-Edom’s house. They were very joyful as they brought it to Jerusalem. 26God helped the descendants of Levi who carried the Sacred Chest of Yahweh; therefore David and the leaders sacrificed seven bulls and seven ◄rams/male sheep► to thank him. 27All the descendants of Levi who carried the Sacred Chest, all the singers, and Kenaniah, the man who directed those who sang, wore robes of fine white linen and sacred vests made of fine linen. David also wore a sacred vest made of white linen. 28So all of the Israeli people joined in bringing the Sacred Chest up to Jerusalem. They shouted joyfully, while the musicians blew horns and trumpets, and played cymbals, lyres, and harps.

29While they were bringing the Sacred Chest into Jerusalem, Saul’s daughter Michal watched them, looking out of a window. When she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him.

16

1They brought the Sacred Chest to Gibeon and put it inside the Sacred Tent that David had told his workers to set up. Then they brought offerings to be completely burned on the altar and offerings to enable them to maintain fellowship with God. 2When David had finished presenting all those offerings, he asked Yahweh to bless the people. 3He gave a loaf of bread, some dates, and some raisins to every Israeli man and woman who was there.

4Then David appointed some of the descendants of Levi to stand in front of the Sacred Tent in which the Sacred Chest had been placed, to lead the people who worshiped and thanked and praised Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people. 5Asaph, who played the cymbals, was their leader. Zechariah was his assistant. The other descendants of Levi who helped Asaph were Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They played lyres and harps. 6Benaiah and Jahaziel were priests who blew trumpets frequently in front of the Sacred Tent in which was the Sacred Chest.

David’s song of praise

7On that day, David gave to Asaph and his helpers this psalm to praise Yahweh:

8Thank God, and pray to him [MTY].

Tell the people of all nations what he has done.

9Sing to him; sing songs to praise him.

Tell about all his miraculous deeds.

10Be glad that you belong to him [MTY];

those who want to know Yahweh better should rejoice.

11Trust in Yahweh and in his power;

continually seek to get help from him.

12Do not forget the wonderful things that he has done,

the miracles and the just laws that he has given to us.

13We people are the descendants of his servant Jacob;

we are the people of Israel whom he has chosen.

14Yahweh is our God.

His just/fair laws are known by people throughout the world.

15He never forgets the agreement that he has made:

he made a promise that will last for 1,000 generations.

16That is the agreement that he made with Abraham,

and he repeated that agreement to Isaac.

17It was an agreement for the Israeli people,

and he wanted that agreement to endure forever.

18What he said was, “I will give the Canaan region to you,

to belong to you and your descendants forever.”

19He said that to them when there were only a few of them,

a tiny group of people who were living in that land ◄like strangers/that belonged to other people►;

20they continued to wander from one place to another,

from one kingdom to another.

21But he did not allow others to oppress them,

and he warned kings by saying to them,

22“Do not harm the people whom I have chosen!

Do not harm my prophets!”

23You people throughout the world, sing to Yahweh.

Every day proclaim to others that he has saved us.

24Tell the people of the nations that he is great;

tell all the people-groups the marvelous things that he has done.

25Yahweh is great, and he deserves to be praised very much.

He should be revered more than all the gods,

26because all the gods that the other people-groups worship are only idols,

but Yahweh is truly great; he created the skies.

27He is glorious and majestic;

his power and joy fill his Sacred Tent.

28You people in nations all over the world, praise Yahweh!

Praise Yahweh for his glorious power [HEN]!

29Praise Yahweh like he [MTY] deserves to be praised.

Bring an offering and come to his Sacred Tent.

Worship Yahweh because he is holy.

30Everyone on the earth should tremble in front of Yahweh.

He put the earth firmly in its place; and nothing ever will be able to move/shake it.

31Everything in the sky and on the earth should be happy.

People everywhere should say, “Yahweh is our king!”

32The oceans and all the creatures that are in the oceans should shout to praise him;

the fields and everything that is in them should rejoice.

33When they do that, it will be as though the trees in the forest will sing joyfully in front of Yahweh.

That will happen when he comes to judge everyone on [MTY] the earth.

34Thank Yahweh, because everything that he does is good.

He faithfully loves us forever.

35Say to him, “God, you are the one who rescues us,

so gather us together and save us from the armies of other nations.

When you do that, we will thank you [MTY],

and we will be happy to praise you.”

36Praise Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people,

He has always existed, and he will exist forever.

After the people finished singing that song, they all said, “◄Amen/May it be so►!”, and they praised Yahweh.

Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon

37Then David left Asaph and the other members of his clan there in front of the tent in which Yahweh’s Sacred Chest had been placed. He told them that they must do their work there every day. 38David also left Obed-Edom and 68 other descendants of Levi to work with them. Hosah and Obed-Edom guarded the entrances of the Sacred Tent.

39David also told Zadok the Supreme Priest and the other priests who worked with him to remain in front of Yahweh’s Sacred Tent, which was still at the place where the Israeli people worshiped God there in Gibeon city. 40Every morning and every evening they burned offerings on the altar, obeying the rules/laws that had been written by Moses, rules/laws which Yahweh had given to the Israeli people. 41With them were Heman and Jeduthun and other descendants of Levi. They [MTY] were chosen to sing songs to praise Yahweh because he faithfully loves his people forever. 42Heman and Jeduthun were appointed to play the trumpets and cymbals when the other descendants of Levi sang sacred songs. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to guard the gates of the Sacred Tent.

43Then all the people left. They returned to their homes, and David returned home to ask Yahweh to bless his family.

17

Yahweh’s promise to David

1After David began to live in his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan, “It does not seem right that I am here living in a palace made of cedar wood, but Yahweh’s Sacred Chest is kept inside a tent!”

2Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you are thinking about doing, do it, because God is with/guiding you.”

3But that night God spoke [MTY] to Nathan. He said,

4“Go and tell my servant David that this is what I, Yahweh, am saying to him: ‘You are not the one who should build a temple for me to live in. 5I have not lived in any building, from the day that I brought the people of Israel up out of Egypt until now. Instead, I have lived in a tent, moving from one place to another with the Israelis when they moved to other places [DOU]. 6Wherever I went with all the Israelis as they traveled, I never [RHQ] said to any of their leaders whom I appointed to lead [MET] them, “Why have you not built me a temple made of cedar wood?”’

7Therefore, this is what you should say to my servant David: ‘I, the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, took you from a pasture where you were taking care of sheep, and I appointed you to be the ruler of my Israeli people. 8I have ◄been with/helped► you wherever you have gone, and I have gotten rid of all your enemies as you advanced. And now I will cause you to become very famous, as well-known as the names of the greatest men who have ever lived on the earth. 9-10Formerly, during the time that I appointed leaders for my Israeli people, many violent groups oppressed them. But this will not happen anymore. I have chosen a place where my Israeli people can live peacefully and no one will disturb them anymore. I will give notallow them to be attacked by their enemies. And I will defeat all your enemies.

I declare to you that I, Yahweh, will enable your descendants to rule after you die. 11When your life ends [EUP], and you die and go to be with your ancestors who have died, I will appoint one of your sons to become king, and I will enable his kingdom to ◄be strong/resist all their enemies►. 12He is the one who will arrange for a temple to be built for me. And I will enable his descendants to be kings [MTY] of Israel forever. 13I will be like a father to him, and it will be as though he is a son to me. I stopped loving Saul, the one who was the king before you became king, but I will never stop loving your son. 14I will cause him to rule over my people [MTY], and his kingdom will endure forever [DOU].’ ”

15So Nathan reported to David everything that Yahweh had revealed to him.

David’s prayer

16Then David went into the Sacred Tent and sat in the presence of Yahweh, and prayed this:

“Yahweh my God, I am certainly not [RHQ] worthy for you to have done all these things for me, and my family is not worthy, either.

17And O God, now, in addition to everything else, you have spoken about what will happen to my descendants in the future for many generations. Yahweh my God, you have acted toward me as though I was the most important man on the earth!

18What more can I, David, say to you for honoring me? Although you know very well what I am like, 19Yahweh, for my sake and because it is what you wanted to do, you have done these great things for me, and you have revealed to me these things that you are promising to do.

20Yahweh, you are great. There is no one like you. Only you are God, which is what we have always heard. 21And there is no nation in the world like Israel [RHQ]. Israel is the only nation on the earth whose people you rescued. You performed great and awesome miracles, rescuing our ancestors from being slaves in Egypt, and expelling the people of other people-groups who were in Canaan. 22You have caused us your Israeli people to belong to you forever, and you, Yahweh, have become our God!

23And now Yahweh, I pray that you will cause the things that you have promised to do for me and my descendants [MTY] to be fulfilled forever. 24When that happens, you [MTY] will be famous forever. And people will exclaim, ‘The Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, is the God who rules Israel!’ And you will cause that forever there will be descendants [MTY] of mine who will rule.

25You, my God, have revealed to me that you will cause some of my descendants to become kings. So I am brave enough to pray like this to you. 26Yahweh, you are God! You have promised to do these good things for me. 27And now you, Yahweh, have promised to bless my descendants [MTY], in order that they will continue to rule forever. That will happen because you, Yahweh, are the one who has blessed them, and you will keep blessing them forever.”

18

David’s military victories

1Some time later, David’s army attacked the army of Philistia and defeated them. They captured Gath city and the surrounding villages.

2His army also defeated the army of the Moab people-group. The people were forced to accept David as their ruler, and also to pay money each year to David’s government, in order that David’s army would protect them.

3David’s army also fought against the army of Hadadezer, the king of the Zobah region in Syria near Hamath city, when Hadadezer was trying to establish control over the area near the Euphrates River. 4David’s army captured 1,000 of Hadadezer’s chariots, 7,000 chariot-drivers, and 20,000 soldiers. They hamstrung/crippled most of their horses; there were only 100 horses that they did not cripple.

5When the army of Syria came from Damascus city to help Hadadezer’s army, David’s soldiers killed 22,000 of them. 6Then David stationed groups of his soldiers in Damascus, and the people of Syria were forced to accept David as their ruler, and to pay to David’s government each year the payment/tax that he demanded. And Yahweh enabled David’s army to win battles everywhere they went.

7David soldiers took the gold shields that were carried by the officers of Hadadezer’s army and brought them to Jerusalem. 8They also brought from Tebah (OR, Tibhath) and Cun, two towns that belonged to Hadadezer, a lot of bronze, which David’s son Solomon later used to make the huge bronze basin and the pillars and other bronze items for the temple.

9When Tou, the king of Hamath city in Syria, heard that David’s army had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer, 10he sent his son Hadoram to King David, to greet him and ◄congratulate him/tell him that he was happy► about his defeating Hadadezer’s army, which had been fighting the army of Tou. Hadoram brought to David many items/gifts made of gold, silver, and bronze.

11King David dedicated those things to Yahweh, like he had done with the silver and gold that his soldiers had taken from the Edom and Moab people-groups, and from the Ammon people-group and from the people of Philistia, and from the descendants of Amalek.

12One of David’s army commanders, Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, went with his army and killed 18,000 soldiers from Edom in the Salt Valley. 13Then David stationed groups of his soldiers there in Edom, and the people of Edom were forced to accept David as their king and to pay money to David’s government every year. And Yahweh enabled David’s army to win battles wherever they went.

David’s officials

14David ruled over all the Israeli people, and he always did for them what was just and fair. 15Zeruiah’s son Joab was the chief army commander. Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the record-keeper. 16Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the Supreme Priests. Shavsha was the official secretary. 17Benaiah the son of Jehoiada ruled over the Kereth and Peleth groups who were David’s bodyguards. And David’s sons were his most important officials.

19

The battle against the Ammon people-group

1Some time later, Nahash, the king of the Ammon people-group, died. Then his son Hanun became their king. 2When David heard about that, he thought to himself, “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to his son.” So David sent some officials there, to tell Hanun that he was sorry to hear that Hanun’s father had died.

But when David’s officials came to Hanun in the land where the Ammon people-group lived, 3the leaders of the Ammon people-group said to Hanun, “Do you think that it is really to honor your father that King David is sending these men to say that he is sorry that your father died? We think that his men have come to ◄look around/spy► our city in order to determine how his army can conquer us.”

4Hanun believed what they said; so he commanded some soldiers to seize the officials whom David had sent, and shave off their beards, and insult them by cutting off the lower part of their robes, and then send them away. So his soldiers did that.

5The officials were greatly humiliated/ashamed. When David found outers did that. 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.”

6Then the leaders of the Ammon people-group realized that they had greatly insulted [IDM] David. So Hanun and some of his officials sent about ◄37,000 pounds/34,000 kg.► of silver to hire chariots and chariot-drivers from the Aram-Naharaim, Aram-Maacah and Zobah regions of Syria northeast of Israel. 7They hired 32,000 chariots and chariot-drivers, as well as the king of the Maacah region and his army. They came and set up their tents near Medeba town in Moab region. The soldiers from the Ammon people-group also marched out and ◄stood in their positions/arranged themselves for battle► at the entrance to their capital city, Rabbah.

8When David heard about that, he sent Joab and all his army. 9The soldiers of the Ammon people-group came out of their city and lined up for battle at the entrance to their capital city, Rabbah. Meanwhile, the other kings who had come with their armies stood in their positions in the open fields.

10Joab saw that there were groups of enemy soldiers in front of his troops and behind his troops. So he selected some of the best Israeli troops and put them in positions to fight against the soldiers of Syria. 11He appointed his older brother Abishai to be the commander of his other soldiers and he told them to ◄stand in their positions/arrange themselves► in front of the army of the Ammon people-group. 12Joab said to them, “If the soldiers from Syria are too strong for us to defeat them, then your soldiers must come and help us. But if the soldiers from the Ammon people-group are too strong for you to defeat them, then my soldiers will come and help your men. 13We must be strong/courageous, and fight hard to defend our people and our cities ◄that belong to/where we worship► our God. I will pray that Yahweh will do what he considers to be good.”

14So Joab and his troops advanced to fight the army of Syria, and the soldiers from Syria ran away from them. 15And when the soldiers of the Ammon people-group saw that the soldiers from Syria were running away, they also started to run away from Abishai and his army, and they retreated back inside the city. So Joab and his army returned to Jerusalem.

16After the leaders of the army of Syria realized that they had been defeated by the army of Israel, they sent messengers to another part of Syria on the east side of the Euphrates river, and brought troops from there to the battle area, with Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.

17When David heard about that, he gathered all the Israeli soldiers, and they crossed the Jordan River. They advanced and took their battle positions to attack the army of Syria. 18But the army of Syria ran away from the soldiers of Israel. However, David’s soldiers killed 7,000 of their chariot-drivers and 40,000 other soldiers. They also killed Shophach, their army commander.

19When the kings who had been ruled by Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by the Israeli army, they made peace with David, and agreed to allow him to rule them.

So the rulers of Syria did not want to help the rulers of the Ammon people-group anymore.

20

David’s army captured the capital city of Ammon

1In that region, kings usually went with their armies to fight their enemies ◄in the springtime/when the cold season ended►. But that year, David did not do that. Instead, he stayed in Jerusalem, and he sent his commander Joab to lead the army. Joab took his troops. They crossed the Jordan River and ruined the land of the Ammon people-group. Then they went to Rabbah, the capital city, and surrounded it. David stayed in Jerusalem for a while. But later he took more troops and went to help Joab. Their armies attacked Rabbah and destroyed it. 2Then David took the crown from the head of the king of Rabbah (OR, from the head of their god Milcom) and put it on his own head. It was very heavy; it weighed ◄75 pounds/34 kg.►, and it had many very valuable stones fastened to it. They also took many other valuable things from the city. 3Then they brought the people out of the city and forced them to work for their army, using saws and iron picks and axes. David’s soldiers did this in all the cities of the Ammon people-group. Then David and all of his army returned to Jerusalem.

Wars against the giants in Philistia

4Later, David’s army fought a battle with the army of Philistia, at Gezer city. During the battle Sibbecai, from Hushah clan, killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rapha giants. So the armies of Philistia were defeated.

5In another battle against the soldiers of Philistia, Elhanan, the son of Jair, killed Lahmi, the younger brother of the giant Goliath from Gath town, who had a spear which was as thick as a weaver’s rod.

6There was another battle near Gath. A ◄huge man/giant► was there who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was descended from the Rapha giants. 7When he made fun of the soldiers of Israel, Jonathan, the son of David’s older brother Shimea, killed him.

8Those were some of the descendants of the Rapha giants who had lived in Gath, who were killed [MTY] by David and his soldiers.

21

David commanded that the soldiers be counted

1Satan decided to cause the Israeli people to have trouble. So he incited David to find out how many men in Israel were able to be in the army.

2So David commanded Joab and the other army commanders, “Count all the men in Israel who are able to be in the army. Start at Beersheba town in the south and go all the way to Dan city in the north. Then come back and report to me, in order that I may know how many men there are.”

3But Joab replied, “Your majesty, even if Yahweh allowed us to have 100 times as many soldiers as we have now, you would [RHQ] still rule all of them. So why do you want us to do this? You will surely [RHQ] cause all the people of Israel to be guilty of sinning.”

4But David would not change his mind. So Joab and his soldiers went everywhere in Israel and in Judah, and counted the people. Then they returned to Jerusalem, 5and they reported to David that there were 1,100,000 men in Israel who could be in the army, and 470,000 in Judah. 6Joab did not count the men from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he was disgusted with what the king had commanded.

God punished the people of Israel

7David’s command to count the people caused God to become angry, so he told David that he had decided to punish the people of Israel. 8Then David prayed, saying, “Yahweh, what I did was very foolish. I have sinned greatly by what I have done. So now I plead with you, please forgive me.”

9Then Yahweh said to Gad, David’s prophet, 10“Go and tell this to David: I am allowing you to choose one of three things to punish you. I will do whichever one you choose.”

11So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You can choose one of these punishments: 12three years of famine in Israel, or three months during which your armies will run away from their enemies who will attack them with swords, or three days during which I will send my angel to cause many people in the country to die because of a ◄plague/very serious illness►.’ So, you must decide what I will say to answer Yahweh, the one who sent me.”

13David replied to Gad, “I am very distressed. But allow Yahweh to punish [MTY] me, because he is very merciful. Do not allow humans to punish me, because they will not be merciful.”

14So Yahweh sent a plague on the people of Israel, and 70,000 of them died because of it. 15And God sent an angel to destroy the people in Jerusalem by the plague. But when the angel was standing at the ground where Araunah, from the Jebus people-group, threshed grain, Yahweh saw all the suffering that the people had endured, and he was grieved. So he said to the angel, “Stop what you are doing [IDM]! That is enough [IDM]!”

16David looked up and saw the angel whom Yahweh had sent, standing between the sky and the ground. The angel had a sword in his hand that was pointed toward Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of the city, who were wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, prostrated themselves on the ground.

17David said to God, “I am [RHQ] the one who ordered the men who could be in the army to be counted. I am the one who has sinned and done what is very wrong, but these people are as innocent as [MET] sheep. They have certainly not [RHQ] done anything that is wrong. So Yahweh my God, punish [IDM] me and my family, but do not allow this plague to continue to cause your people to become sick and die.”

18Then the angel who was sent by Yahweh told Gad to go up to the place where Araunah threshed grain and tell David to build an altar to worship Yahweh there. 19So after Gad told David, he obeyed the message that Yahweh [MTY] had given to Gad, and he went up there.

20While Araunah was threshing some wheat, he turned and saw the angel. His four sons who were with him also saw the angel, and they hid themselves. 21Then David approached. When Araunah saw him, he left the place where he was threshing grain and prostrated himself, with his face touching the ground.

22David said to him, “Please sell me your threshng place in order that I can build an altar here to worship Yahweh. Then he will stop this plague. I will pay the full price.”

23Araunah replied, “Take it! Your majesty, do whatever you want to. I will give you the oxen that thresh the grain for an offering to be completely burned on the altar. And I will give you the threshing boards to use as wood on the altar, and I will give you grain for a grain offering. I will give all those things to you.”

24But the king said to Araunah, “No, I will not take these things as a gift. I will pay you the full price for it. I will not take things that belong to you, things that have cost me nothing and offer them as sacrifices to Yahweh to be completely burned on the altar.”

25So David paid Araunah 600 pieces of gold for the whole area. 26David built an altar to worship Yahweh there, and he offered sacrifices to be completely burned on the altar and sacrifices to restore fellowship with Yahweh. David prayed to Yahweh, and Yahweh answered by sending a fire from heaven to burn up the offerings on the altar.

27Then Yahweh spoke to the angel, and told him to put his sword back into its sheath. So the angel did that. 28And when David saw that Yahweh had answered him there at the place where Araunah threshed grain and had ended the plague, he offered sacrifices there. 29Yahweh’s Sacred Tent, which Moses had commanded to be set up in the desert, and the altar for burning sacrifices completely, were at that time on a hill at Gibeon city. 30But David did not want to go there to request God to tell him what he wanted him to do, because he was afraid that the angel sent from Yahweh might strike him with his sword.

22

1Then David said, “Here, at the edge of Jerusalem, is where we will build the temple for our God Yahweh, and where we will make the altar for burning the offerings that the Israeli people will bring.”

The preparations for the temple

2So David commanded that the foreigners who lived in Israel must gather together. When they did that, he appointed some of those men to cut huge stones from the quarries and to smooth their surfaces, to be used to build the temple of God. 3David provided a large amount of iron for making nails and hinges for the doors in the gates of the temple. He also provided so much bronze for making the altar and various utensils, that no one could weigh it all. 4He also provided money for buying a large amount of cedar logs. Because there was a huge number of them, no one was able to count them. Those were logs that men from Tyre and Sidon cities sent to David.

5David provided all those things because he thought, “My son Solomon is still young and he does not know what he needs to know about building, and the temple of Yahweh must be ◄magnificent/very beautiful►. It must be a glorious building that will become famous, and people throughout the world must consider it to be glorious/splendid. So now I will begin to prepare for it to be built, and Solomon will be responsible for building it.” So David collected a great amount of building materials before he died.

6When David was old, he summoned his son Solomon, and told him that he should arrange for a temple to be built for Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis worshiped. 7He said to him, “I wanted [IDM] to build a temple to honor [MTY] Yahweh, my God. 8But Yahweh told a prophet to tell me, ‘You have killed many men [MTY] in the battles that you have fought. I have seen the blood of all the people whom you killed, so you will not be the one who will arrange for a temple to be built to honor me [MTY]. 9But you will have a son who will be king of Israel after you die. He will be a man who is peaceful and quiet, not a man who kills others. And I will cause that there will be peace between him and his enemies who are in all the nearby lands. His name will be Solomon, which sounds like the word for peace. During the time that he is king, people in Israel will be peaceful and safe. 10He is the one who will arrange for a temple to be built to honor me [MTY]. He will be like a son to me, and I will cause some of his descendants to rule [MTY] over Israel forever [HYP].’

11So now, my son, I hope/wish that Yahweh will help you, and enable you to be successful in arranging for building the temple of Yahweh, your God, which is what he said that you would do. 12I also hope/wish that he will enable you to be wise and to understand what you need to know, and enable you to obey his laws while you rule over Israel. 13If you carefully obey all the laws and regulations/commands that Yahweh gave to Moses to give to us Israeli people, you will be successful. So be steadfast/strong and courageous. Do not be afraid of anything, and do not become discouraged!

14I have tried hard to provide materials for building the temple of Yahweh. I have provided nearly 4,000 tons of gold, and nearly 40,000 tons of silver. I have also provided a very large amount of iron and bronze; no one has been able to weigh it all. I have also gathered/provided lumber and stone for the walls of the temple, but you may need to get some more of those things. 15There are many men in Israel who have good ability to cut big stones for making stone walls, and carpenters, and men who are very skilled at making various kinds of things. 16There are many men who know how to make things from gold and silver and bronze and iron. So now I say to you, begin the work of building the temple, and I hope/wish that Yahweh will help/be with you.”

17Then David commanded that all the Israeli leaders must assist Solomon. He said to them, 18“Yahweh our God is certainly with/helping you [RHQ]. He has allowed you to have peace with all the nearby nations [RHQ]. He has enabled my army to conquer [IDM] them, so now Yahweh and my people control them. 19Now you must obey Yahweh completely. Help Solomon to arrange for building the temple for Yahweh God, in order that you can bring the Sacred Chest that contains the Ten Commandments and the other sacred items that belong to God into the temple that you will build to honor Yahweh.”

23

The duties of the descendants of Levi

1David was a very old man [DOU] when he appointed his son Solomon to be the next king.

2David gathered the leaders of Israel and the priests and other descendants of Levi. 3He commanded some of his officials to count the descendants of Levi who were at least thirty years old, and they found out that there were 38,000 of them. 4Then David said, “From those 38,000 men, I want 24,000 of them to supervise the work at the temple of Yahweh, and I want 6,000 of them to be officials and judges. 5I want 4,000 to be guards at the gates, and 4,000 to praise Yahweh, using the musical instruments that I have provided for them.”

6David divided the descendants of Levi into three family groups; each group consisted of men who were descendants of one of the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The descendants of Gershon

7From the descendants of Gershon there were Ladan and Shimei.

8There were three sons of Ladan: Jehiel was the oldest, and his younger brothers Zetham and Joel.

9There were three of the sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.

They were all leaders of the clans of Ladan.

10There were four men who were other sons of Shimei:

11Jahath, who was his oldest son, and his younger brothers Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.

Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as though they were one family.

The descendants of Kohath

12Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

13There were two sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses.

Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the very holy things, to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, to serve in his presence, and to declare to the people what Yahweh [MTY] would do to bless them. They were to do those things forever.

14The sons of Moses, the man who served God well, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

15The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

16The oldest son of Gershom was Shubael.

17Rehabiah was the oldest son of Eliezer.

Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.

18The oldest son of Izhar was Shelomith.

19Hebron had four sons.

Jeriah was his oldest son, and his younger brothers were Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.

20Uzziel had two sons.

Micah was the oldest son, and his younger brother was Isshiah.

The descendants of Merari

21Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.

22Eleazar had no sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23The three sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

24Those were the descendants of Levi, whose names were listed according to their families/clans. They were chosen for special jobs by ◄casting lots/throwing small marked stones►. Each person who was at least 20 years old was listed. They all worked in the temple of Yahweh. 25David had said previously, “Yahweh, the God to whom we Israeli people belong, has enabled us to have peace, and he has come to live in Jerusalem forever. 26Therefore, the descendants of Levi no longer need to carry the Sacred Tent and the items used in the work there.” 27Obeying the final instructions of David before he died, instructions for doing this work at the temple, they counted only the descendants of Levi who were at least 20 years old.

28The work of those descendants of Levi was to assist the descendants of Aaron in their work in the temple of Yahweh: To be in charge of the temple courtyards and the side rooms, the ceremonies for purifying all the sacred things, and to do other work at the temple. 29They were also in charge of the sacred loaves of bread that were placed each week on the table in the temple, the flour for the grain offerings, the wafers that were made without yeast, and the measuring the ingredients and mixing them and baking that bread and those wafers. 30They were also told to stand every morning at the temple and thank Yahweh and praise him. They were also required to do the same thing every evening. 31And they were to do the same thing whenever offerings that were to be completely burned on the altar were presented/offered to Yahweh on Sabbath days and during the new moon celebrations and other religious festivals. They were told how many of them should be there and what they should do each time.

32So the descendants of Levi did the work that was assigned to them by their fellow Israelis who were descendants of Aaron. They did that work in the area surrounding the Sacred Tent, and in the Sacred Tent, and later at the temple.

24

The duties of the priests

1These are the groups of the descendants of Aaron the first Supreme Priest: Aaron’s four sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

2But Nadab and Abihu died before their father died, and they had no children. So their younger brothers Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests. 3Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, who was a descendant of Ithamar, helped David to separate his descendants into two groups. Each group had certain duties. 4There were more leaders among the descendants of Eleazar than there were among the descendants of Ithamar. So they appointed 16 leaders from Eleazar’s descendants and eight leaders from Ithamar’s descendants. 5There were temple officials and priests, including descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar, to make sure that the work was divided fairly. So they decided what work each person would do by ◄casting lots/throwing marked stones►.

6Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel, who was a descendant of Levi, wrote down the names of the leaders of each group while David and his officials were watching. Zadok, the Supreme Priest, and Ahimelech his assistant, and the leaders of the families of the priests and of the families of the other descendants of Levi also watched.

7Jehoiarib was the first one whose name was selected by casting lots/throwing marked stones.

Next Jedaiah was selected.

8Next, Harim was selected.

Next, Seorim was selected.

9Next, Malkijah was selected.

Next, Mijamin was selected.

10Next, Hakkoz was selected.

Next, Abijah was selected.

11Next, Jeshua was selected.

Next, Shecaniah was selected.

12Next, Eliashib was selected.

Next, Jakim was selected.

13Next, Huppah was selected.

Next, Jeshebeab was selected.

14Next, Bilgah was selected.

Next, Immer was selected.

15Next, Hezir was selected.

Next, Happizzez was selected.

16Next, Pethahiah was selected.

Next, Jehezkel was selected.

17Next, Jakin was selected.

Next, Gamul was selected.

18Next, Delaiah was selected.

Next, Maaziah was selected.

19Those were the men who were chosen to be the leaders of the groups that would serve in the temple, obeying the regulations that were set down by Aaron, regulations which Yahweh, the God to whom the Israeli people belonged, had given to him.

The other descendants of Levi

20This is a list of some of the other descendants of Levi:

Amram was the ancestor of Shubael and Jehdeiah.

21Rehabiah was the ancestor of Isshiah, the oldest son in his family.

22Izhar was the father of Shelomoth and the grandfather of Jahath.

23Kohath’s son Hebron had four sons: Jeriah and his younger brothers Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.

24Uzziel was the father of Micah and the grandfather of Shamir.

25Micah’s younger brother was the father of Zechariah.

26The sons of Merari were Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah.

27Jaaziah thad four sons: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

28Mahli’s son Eleazar did not have any sons.

29From the descendants of Mahli’s second son Kish there was Jerahmeel.

30The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

Those were descendants of Levi who were listed according to the leaders of their families. 31The jobs they would do were decided by ◄casting lots/throwing marked stones►, like their fellow Israelis, the descendants of Aaron, did. They cast lots {The lots were cast} while King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the leaders of the families of the priests and the other descendants of Levi watched. They gave the same jobs to the families of each oldest brother and each youngest brother.

25

The duties that David assigned to the musicians

1David and some of the temple officials (OR, army commanders) chose some of the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to be in charge of proclaiming God’s messages, and to play harps and lyres and cymbals. This is a list of the men whom they chose for that work:

2From the sons of Asaph they chose Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Aserelah. Asaph supervised them. And the king appointed Asaph to proclaim God’s messages.

3From the sons of Jeduthun they chose six men: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah. Jeduthun supervised them and also proclaim God’s messages, playing his harp while he thanked and praised Yahweh.

4From the sons of Heman, who was one of the king’s prophets, they chose Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5God promised to cause Heman to be strong, so altogether, God have him 14 sons and three daughters.

6All those men were supervised by their fathers while they played music in the temple of Yahweh. They played cymbals, lyres, and harps. And their fathers—Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman—were supervised by the king. 7Those men and their relatives were all trained and skilled for playing musical instruments in the temple. That was their work for Yahweh. Including their relatives, there were 288 of them. 8All of them, including ones who were young and those who were old, cast lots to determine what work they would do.

9From the family of Asaph, the first ones selected were Joseph and 12 of his sons and relatives.

10Next, Gedaliah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

11Next, Zaccur and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

12Next, Nethaniah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

13Next, Bukkiah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

14Next, Jesarelah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

15Next, Jeshaiah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

16Next, Mattaniah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

17Next, Shimei and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

18Next, Azarel and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

19Next, Hashabiah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

20Next, Shubael and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

21Next, Mattithiah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

22Next, Jerimoth and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

23Next, Hananiah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

24Next, Joshbekashah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

25Next, Hanani and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

26Next, Mallothi and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

27Next, Eliathah and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

28Next, Hothir and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

29Next, Giddalti and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

30Next, Mahazioth and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

31Next, Romamti-Ezer and 12 of his sons and relatives were selected.

26

The guards of the temple gates

1This is a list of the groups of men who guarded the temple gates:

From the descendants of Korah, there was Meshelemiah, the son of Kore, who was one of the sons of Asaph.

2The oldest son of Meshelemiah was Zechariah. His other sons were Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel, 3Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

4Another guard was Obed-Edom.

His oldest son was Shemaiah. His other sons were Jehozabad, Joah, Sacar, Nethanel, 5Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai. It was because God had blessed him that he had many sons.

6Obed-Edom’s son Shemaiah also had sons. They were leaders in their father’s family because they were capable of doing many things well. 7The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. Shemaiah’s relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also capable men.

8All of those descendants of Obed-Edom and their sons and relatives were capable people and strong workers. Altogether there were 62 of them.

9Another guard was Meshelemiah. He and his sons and relatives were also capable people. There were 18 of them altogether.

10Another guard was Hosah’s son Shimri, a descendant of Merari. Hosah appointed Shimri to be the leader, even though he was not Hosah’s oldest son. 11Hosah’s other sons were Hilkiah, Tabaliah, and Zechariah. Altogether there were 13 sons and relatives of Hosah.

12Those men were leaders of the groups of men who guarded the gates of the temple. They worked at the temple like their relatives did. 13By casting lots, the leader of each family chose one gate for their group to guard. All of them, including young men and old men (OR, including leaders of large families and small families), cast lots.

14Shelemiah’s group was selected to guard the East Gate.

The group of Shelemiah’s son Zechariah, who was a wise counselor, was selected to guard the North Gate.

15Then Obed-Edom’s group was selected to guard the South Gate, and his sons were selected to guard the entrances to the temple storerooms.

16Then Shuppim’s group and Hosah’s group were selected to guard the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road to the temple.

The work for the guards was divided evenly. 17Each day there were six descendants of Levi who guarded the East Gate, four who guarded the North Gate, four who guarded the South Gate, and two at a time who guarded the entrances to the storerooms. 18At the West gate there were two men who guarded the courtyard and four who guarded the road outside the courtyard.

19Those were the groups of men who were descendants of Korah and Merari who guarded the gates of the temple.

Other work at the temple

20Other descendants of Levi were in charge of the chests that contained the money that was dedicated to Yahweh, money that the people brought to the temple.

21One of those men was Ladan, a descendant of Gershon. He was the ancestor of several family groups. Jehiel was the leader of one of those family groups. 22Others who had that work were Zetham and his younger brother Joel, who were the sons of Jehiel.

23Others who did that work were descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

24From the descendants of Amram, Shubael, a descendant of Moses’s son Gershom, was the leader who was in charge of the money chests. 25Others who did that work were the descendants of Gershom’s younger brother Eliezer. Those men were Eliezer’s son Rehabiah, Rehabiah’s son Jeshaiah, Jeshaiah’s son Joram, Joram’s son Zicri, and Zicri’s son Shelomith. 26Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the valuable things that had been dedicated to Yahweh by King David, by the leaders of the family groups, by the army commanders of 1,000 soldiers and commanders of 100 soldiers, and by other army commanders. 27Some of the things that those army officers had taken from Israel’s enemies in battles they dedicated for the repair of the temple of Yahweh. 28And Shelomith and his relatives were also in charge of everything that had been dedicated to Yahweh by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, and by David’s two army commanders Ner and Joab.

29From the descendants of Izhar, Kenaniah and his sons were given work outside the temple area. They were officials and judges in various places in Israel.

30From the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and his relatives were responsible for the work done for Yahweh and for the king in all the area west of the Jordan river. There were 1,700 of them who were able to do their work well. 31It was written in the records of the descendants of Hebron that Jeriah was their leader. When David had been ruling for almost 40 years, they searched in those records, and they found names of capable men descended from Hebron who were at Jazer city in the Gilead region. 32Jeriah had 2,700 relatives who were able to do their work well, and who were leaders of their families. King David put them in charge of governing the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, to be sure that all the people did what God and the king told them to do.

27

Army commanders

1This is a list of the Israeli men who served the king in the army. Some were leaders of families, some were commanders of 100 men, some were commanders of 1,000 men, and some were their officers. There were 24,000 men [DOU] in each group. Each group served one month of each year.

2Jashobeam, the son of Zabdiel, was in charge of the group that served during the first month of each year. 3He was a descendant of Perez, and he was the commander of all the army officers during the first month of each year.

4Dodai, from the clan of Ahohi, was the commander of the group that served during the following/second month of each year. Mikloth was his ◄assistant/chief officer►.

5Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the Supreme Priest, was the commander of the group that served during the following/third month. 6He was the one who was a mighty warrior among David’s thirty greatest soldiers, and he was their leader. His son Ammizabad was his assistant.

7Asahel, Joab’s younger brother, was the commander of the group that served during the following/fourth month. Asahel’s son Zebadiah became the commander after Asahel was killed.

8The commander for the following/fifth month was Shamhuth, a descendant of Izrah.

9The commander for the following/sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa town.

10The commander for the following/seventh month was Helez, a member of the Pelon clan from the tribe of Ephraim.

11The commander for the following/eighth month was Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah town.

12The commander for the following/ninth month was Abiezer from Anathoth city in the tribe of Benjamin.

13The commander for the following/tenth month was Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophath town.

14The commander for the following/eleventh month was Benaiah from Pirathon town in the tribe of Ephraim.

15The commander for the last month of each year was Heldai, a descendant of Othniel from Netophath town.

The administrators of the twelve tribes

16This is a list of the administrators of the twelve tribes [DOU] of Israel:

Eliezer, the son of Zicri, was the administrator of the tribe of Reuben.

Shephatiah, the son of Maacah, was the administrator of the tribe of Simeon.

17Hashabiah, the son of Kemuel, was the administrator of the tribe of Levi.

Zadok was the administrator of the tribe of Aaron.

18Elihu, David’s older brother, was the administrator of the tribe of Judah.

Omri, the son of Michael, was the administrator of the tribe of Issachar.

19Ishmaiah, the son of Obadiah, was the administrator of the tribe of Zebulun.

Jerimoth, the son of Azriel, was the administrator of the tribe of Naphtali.

20Hoshea, the son of Azaziah, was the administrator of the tribe of Ephraim.

Joel, the son of Pedaiah, was the administrator of the tribe of the western half of the tribe of Manasseh.

21Iddo, the son of Zechariah, was the administrator of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, in the Gilead region.

Jaasiel, the son of Abner, was the administrator of the tribe of Benjamin.

22Azarel, the son of Jeroham, was the administrator of the tribe of Dan.

Those were the leaders over the tribes of Israel.

23When David told Joab to count the men of Israel, he did not tell him to count the men who were less then 20 years old, because Yahweh had promised many years previously that there would be as many people in Israel as there are stars in the sky. 24Joab and his helpers started to count the men of Israel, but they did not finish counting them because Joab knew that Yahweh was angry about their being counted. Yahweh punished [MTY] the people of Israel because of this counting, and as a result the total number of Israeli men able to serve in the army was not written on the scroll about King David’s rule.

The king’s other officials

25Azmaveth, the son of Adiel, was in charge of the king’s storehouses.

Jonathan, the son of Uzziah, was is charge of the storehouses in various towns and villages in Israel, and also in charge of the watchtowers.

26Ezri the son of Kelub was in charge of the workers who farmed the land that belonged to the king.

27Shimei from Ramath town was in charge of the king’s vineyards.

Zabdi from Shepham town was in charge of storing the wine from the grapes produced in vineyards.

28Baal-Hanan from Geder city was in charge of storing the olive oil.

29Shitrai from the Sharon Plain was in charge of the herds of cattle that ◄grazed/ate grass► there.

Shaphat the son of Adlai was in charge of the cattle in the valleys.

30Obil, a descendant of Ishmael, was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah from Meronoth town was in charge of the donkeys.

31Jaziz, a descendant of Hagar, was in charge of the king’s flocks of sheep.

All of those officials were in charge of the things that belonged to King David.

32David’s uncle Jonathan was a wise counselor for him.

Jehiel, the son of Hacmoni, taught the king’s sons.

33Ahithophel was the king’s official counselor.

34Hushai from the Ark people-group was the king’s special friend.

Benaiah’s son Jehoiada became the king’s advisor after Ahithophel died, and later Abiathar became his advisor.

Joab was the chief commander of the army.

28

David’s instructions to Solomon for building the temple

1David summoned all the leaders of Israel to come to Jerusalem. He summoned the leaders of the tribes, the leaders/commanders of the groups that worked for the king, the commanders of 100 soldiers, the commanders of 1,000 soldiers, those who were in charge of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons, all the palace officials, and his mighty soldiers and bravest warriors.

2David stood up and said, “My fellow Israelis, listen to me. I wanted [IDM] to build a temple to be a place where we would put the Sacred Chest of Yahweh, where it would stay permanently. And I made plans to build it. 3But God said to me, ‘You are not the one who will arrange to build a temple for me [MTY], because you are a warrior and you have killed many people [MTY] in battles.’

4But Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, had chosen me and my descendants to be the kings of Israel forever. First he chose the tribe of Judah, and from the people [MTY] of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he chose me to be the king over all of Israel. 5Yahweh has given me many sons, but from them he chose my son Solomon to be the next king to rule [MTY] the kingdom of Israel. 6He said to me, ‘Solomon your son is the one who will arrange to build my temple and the courtyards around it, because I have chosen him to be like my son and I will be like [MET] his father. 7I will enable his kingdom to endure forever if he continues to obey my laws and commands, like you are doing now.’

8So now, while all you people of Israel, all of you who belong to Yahweh, are watching, and while God is listening, I command you leaders to carefully obey all the commands of Yahweh our God, in order that you may continue to possess this good land and enable your descendants to inherit it forever.

9And you, my son Solomon, must know God like I know him, and you must serve him faithfully and because you want to. You must do that because he knows what everyone is thinking and he understands the reasons that people do what they do. If you seek to know him, he will heed your prayers. But if you abandon/reject him, he will abandon/reject you forever. 10Yahweh has chosen you to arrange to build a temple for him. So think about what I have said, and be strong and do what he is wanting you to do.”

11Then David gave to his son Solomon the scroll on which were written the plans for the main rooms of the temple, its porch, its storerooms, all the other upper and lower rooms, and the Very Holy Place where God would forgive the sins that people had committed. 12David wrote for him the plans that God’s Spirit had put into his mind for building the courtyards and all the rooms that surrounded the temple, including the room where the money and other valuable things that were dedicated to God would be kept. 13He gave Solomon instructions for the groups of priests and other descendants of Levi, about all the work that they must do to serve in Yahweh’s temple, and about taking care of all the things that would be used in the work at the temple. 14He wrote down how much gold and how much silver should be used to make all the items in the temple: 15how much gold for making the gold lampstands and the lamps, how much silver to make the silver lamps and lampstands, 16how much gold for making the table on which the priests would put the sacred bread, how much silver to use to make the other tables, 17how much pure gold for the meat forks and the bowls and the cups, how much gold for each gold dish, how much silver for each silver dish, 18and how much pure gold to make the altar for burning incense. He also gave to Solomon his plans for making the golden statues of winged creatures that would be above the Sacred Chest of Yahweh, like a chariot for him.

19Then David said, “I have written all these plans while Yahweh was directing [MTY] me. He has enabled me to understand all the details of his plan for the temple that is to be built.”

20David also said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do this work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, because Yahweh our God will be with/helping you. He will not fail to help you or abandon you until you finish all the work of making his temple. 21The groups of priests and other descendants of Levi are ready to begin their work at the temple, and every man who has a special skill will help you in all the work. And my officials and the other people will obey you, whatever you command them to do.”

29

Gifts for building the temple

1Then King David said to all the people who had gathered there, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen to be the next king, is young and does not have much experience. This work of building the temple is great/important, because this glorious building will not be to honor people, but to honor Yahweh our God. 2From all the things that I possess, I have provided what will be needed to build the temple of my God—the gold for the things to be made of gold, the silver for the things to be made of silver, bronze for the things to be made of bronze, iron for the things to be made of iron, wood for the things to be made of wood, and large amounts of onyx and turquoise and other valuable stones of various colors, and marble and all kinds of valuable stones. 3In addition to all these things that I have given for the temple, I am giving treasures of gold and silver, because I very much desire that this holy temple for my God be built. 4I am giving 110 tons of gold from Ophir and 260 tons of refined silver to cover the walls of the buildings, 5for making the other items of gold and silver, and for the other work to be done by the craftsmen. So now, I ask you, are there others willing to show by contributing other gifts for the building of the temple [EUP] that they have dedicated themselves to Yahweh?”

6Then the leaders of the families/clans, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of 1,000 soldiers and the commanders of 100 soldiers, and the officials who supervised the work that the king wanted done, gave gifts ◄willingly/because they wanted to give them►. 7For the work at the temple they gave 190 tons and ◄185 pounds/84 kg.► of gold, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. 8And any people who owned valuable stones gave them to be put in the storeroom of the temple. Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon, was appointed to be in charge of them. 9The people were happy to see that their leaders wanted to give those things, because they knew that their leaders were happy and enthusiastic to give those things to Yahweh. And King David also was very happy.

David’s prayer

10Then, while all the people there were listening, David prayed, saying,

“We praise you, Yahweh,

the God whom our ancestor Jacob worshiped.

We will praise you forever!

11You alone are great and powerful;

only you are truly glorious and majestic and wonderful.

And that is true because everything in heaven and on the earth is yours.

You are the king of all the people in this world;

you are the ruler of everything.

12Because you are very powerful [DOU],

you are able to cause anyone to be great and strong.

13So now, our God, we thank you,

and we praise you [MTY] for being very great.

14But my people and I are not really able to give anything to you,

because everything that we have comes from you,

and what we have given to you are only the things that we have received from you [MTY].

15In this land we are like [MET] foreigners and strangers, like our ancestors were.

Our time here on this earth is like [SIM] a shadow that disappears quickly;

we know that there is nothing that can enable us to escape dying.

16Yahweh our God, we have gathered all these things to use in building your [MTY] temple,

but all of it really belongs to you, and you have given it to us [MTY].

17My God, I know that you test us people,

and you are pleased if you find out that we do what is right.

All these things I have given to you because I wanted to.

And now I have seen that your people have also joyfully and generously given things to you.

18Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshiped,

I desire/hope that your people will continue to desire to do things like this forever,

and that they will always be loyal to you.

19And now, please enable my son Solomon to faithfully and sincerely [DOU] obey your commands and laws and decrees [DOU]

and to do everything that is needed to build this beautiful building

for which I have provided all these things.”

20Then David said to all the people who were gathered there, “Praise Yahweh our God!” So they all praised Yahweh the God whom their ancestors ◄also worshiped/belonged to►. They prostrated themselves on the ground in front of Yahweh and in front of the king.

Solomon was crowned to become the king

21The next day the people offered sacrifices to Yahweh. They presented many animals to be completely burned on the altar: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, 1,000 male sheep, plus offerings of wine, and many other sacrifices on behalf of all the people of Israel. 22On that day the people were joyful and ate and drank while Yahweh was watching.

Then for the second time they declared that Solomon was now the king. While Yahweh was watching, they anointed him with olive oil to be the king, and they anointed Zadok to be the Supreme Priest. 23So Solomon sat on the throne because Yahweh wanted him to be the king to succeed his father David. During the following years Solomon prospered, and all the Israeli people obeyed him. 24King David’s other sons and all the officers and mighty warriors accepted Solomon as their king, and they solemnly promised to obey him.

25Yahweh caused Solomon to be highly respected by all the Israeli people, and they honored him very much. No king of Israel was honored as much as Solomon was.

The death of David

26Jesse’s son David was the king who ruled all of Israel. 27He ruled for 40 years: Seven years in Hebron city and 33 years in Jerusalem. 28He became an old man who was very rich and greatly honored by all the people. Then he died, and his son Solomon became the king of Israel.

29A record of all the things that King David did while he ruled, from the beginning to the end, was put on scrolls written by the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. 30They told about his powerful rule [HEN], and all the things that happened to him and to the people of Israel and in the nearby kingdoms while he was ruling Israel.