1 Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech.
4 The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. [1]
5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
6 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. [2]
7 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
8 The sons of Ham were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
9 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
10 Cush became the father of Nimrod, who began to be a mighty man on the earth.
11 Egypt became the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 12 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.
13 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and of the Hittites. 14 He also became the ancestor of the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 15 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 16 Arvadites, Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
17 The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
18 Arphaxad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.
19 Eber had two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.
20 Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were descendants of Joktan.
24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,
26 Serug, Nahor, Terah,
27 Abram, who was Abraham.
28 The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael.
29 These are their descendants: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were Ishmael's sons.
32 The sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.
33 Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.
34 Abraham became the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.
35 The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
36 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek.
37 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
38 The sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
39 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam, and Timna was Lotan's sister.
40 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah.
41 The son of Anah was Dishon. The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
42 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.
43 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the people of Israel: Bela son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
44 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.
45 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
46 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the land of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.
47 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.
48 When Samlah died, Shaul of Rehoboth on the river reigned in his place.
49 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor reigned in his place.
50 When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad reigned in his place, and the name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred daughter of Me-Zahab. 51 Hadad died.
The chiefs in Edom were Chief Timna, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth, 52 Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 53 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 54 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.
1 These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
3 Judah's sons were Er, Onan, and Shelah, who were born to him by Shua's daughter, a Canaanite woman. Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. 4 Tamar, his daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons.
5 Perez's sons were Hezron and Hamul.
6 Zerah's sons were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda, five in all.
7 Karmi's son was Achar, who brought trouble on Israel when he acted faithlessly in regard to what was devoted to God. [1]
8 Ethan's son was Azariah.
9 Hezron's sons were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.
10 Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, a leader among Judah's descendants. 11 Nahshon became the father of Salmon, and Salmon became the father of Boaz. 12 Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed became the father of Jesse.
13 Jesse became the father of his firstborn Eliab, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, 14 Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh. 16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three of them. 17 Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.
18 Caleb son of Hezron became the father of children by Azubah, his wife, and by Jerioth. His sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 Azubah died, and then Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 20 Hur became the father of Uri, and Uri became the father of Bezalel.
21 Later Hezron (when he was sixty years old) married the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. She bore him Segub. 22 Segub became the father of Jair, who controlled twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23 Geshur and Aram took Havvoth Jair and Kenath, as well as sixty surrounding towns. All these inhabitants were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.
24 After the death of Hezron, Caleb went to Ephrathah, the wife of his father Hezron. She bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa. [2]
25 The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, were Ram the firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah. She was the mother of Onam.
27 The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur.
29 The name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid.
30 The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim, but Seled died without children.
31 The son of Appaim was Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. The son of Sheshan was Ahlai.
32 The sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children.
33 The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.
34 Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as his wife. She bore him Attai.
36 Attai became the father of Nathan, and Nathan became the father of Zabad.
37 Zabad became the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal became the father of Obed.
38 Obed became the father of Jehu, and Jehu became the father of Azariah.
39 Azariah became the father of Helez, and Helez became the father of Eleasah.
40 Eleasah became the father of Sismai, and Sismai became the father of Shallum.
41 Shallum became the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah became the father of Elishama.
42 The sons of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, were Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph. His second son, Mareshah, was the father of Hebron.
43 The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 44 Shema became the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam. Rekem became the father of Shammai. 45 The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.
46 Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran became the father of Gazez.
47 The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
48 Maakah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Makbenah and the father of Gibea. The daughter of Caleb was Aksah.
50 These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim, 51 Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader.
52 Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim had descendants: Haroeh, half of the Manahathites, 53 and the clans of Kiriath Jearim: the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. The Zorathites and Eshtaolites descended from these.
54 The descendants of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, and half of the Manahathites—the Zorites, 55 and the clans of the scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, father of the house of Rekab.
1 Now these are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam from Jezreel; the second was Daniel, by Abigail from Carmel;
2 the third was Absalom, whose mother was Maakah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur. The fourth was Adonijah son of Haggith;
3 the fifth was Shephatiah by Abital; the sixth was Ithream by Eglah his wife.
4 These six were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. He then ruled thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 5 These four sons, by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel, were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. [1]6 David's other nine sons were: Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. 9 These were David's sons, not including the sons by his concubines. Tamar was their sister.
10 Solomon's son was Rehoboam. Rehoboam's son was Abijah. Abijah's son was Asa. Asa's son was Jehoshaphat.
11 Jehoshaphat's son was Jehoram. Jehoram's son was Ahaziah. Ahaziah's son was Joash.
12 Joash's son was Amaziah. Amaziah's son was Azariah. Azariah's son was Jotham.
13 Jotham's son was Ahaz. Ahaz's son was Hezekiah. Hezekiah's son was Manasseh.
14 Manasseh's son was Amon. Amon's son was Josiah.
15 Josiah's sons were his firstborn Johanan, his second son Jehoiakim, his third son Zedekiah, and his fourth son Shallum.
16 Jehoiakim's sons were Jehoiachin and Zedekiah.
17 The descendants of Jehoiachin the captive, were Shealtiel, 18 Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
19 Pedaiah's sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei. Zerubbabel's sons were Meshullam and Hananiah; Shelomith was their sister.
20 His other five sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-Hesed.
21 Hananiah's sons were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. His son was Rephaiah, and further descendants were Arnan, Obadiah, and Shekaniah.
22 The descendants of Shekaniah were Shemaiah and his sons: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat.
23 Neariah's three sons were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam.
24 Elioenai's seven sons were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani.
1 Judah's descendants were Perez, Hezron, Karmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2 Reaiah, the son of Shobal, was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were of the clans of the Zorathites.
3 These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. Their sister's name was Hazzelelponi. 4 Penuel was the father of Gedor. Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.
5 Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.
7 Helah's sons were Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, 8 and Koz, who became the father of Anub and Hazzobebah, and of the clans descended from Aharhel son of Harum.
9 Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez. She said, "Because I bore him in pain." 10 Jabez called out to the God of Israel and said, "If only you would truly bless me, expand my territory, and your hand will be with me. When you do this you will keep me from harm, so that I may be free from pain!" So God granted him his prayer.
11 Kelub brother of Shuhah became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton became the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir Nahash. [1] These were men who lived in Rekah.
13 Kenaz's sons were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel's sons were Hathath and Meonothai. [2]14 Meonothai became the father of Ophrah, and Seraiah became the father of Joab, the originator of Ge Harashim, whose people were craftsmen.
15 The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah and Naam. Elah's son was Kenaz.
16 Jehallelel's sons were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17 Ezrah's sons were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered's Egyptian wife [3] conceived and bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, who became the father of Eshtemoa. 18 These were the sons of Bithiah, daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married. Mered's Judahite wife bore Jered, who became the father of Gedor; Heber, who became the father of Soko; and Jekuthiel, who became the father of Zanoah.
19 Of the two sons of Hodiah's wife, sister of Naham, one became the father of Keilah the Garmite. The other was Eshtemoa the Maakathite.
20 The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.
21 The descendants of Shelah son of Judah, were Er father of Lekah, Laadah father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea, 22 Jokim, the men of Kozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (This information is from ancient records.) 23 These were the potters who lived in Netaim and Gederah and worked for the king.
24 Simeon's descendants were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul.
25 Shallum was Shaul's son, Mibsam was Shallum's son, and Mishma was Mibsam's son.
26 Mishma's descendants were Hammuel his son, Zakkur his grandson, and Shimei his great-grandson. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. His brothers did not have many children, so their clans did not increase greatly in numbers as the people of Judah did. 28 They lived at Beersheba, Moladah, and at Hazar Shual. 29 They also live at Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David. 32 Their five villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan, 33 together with the outlying villages as far as Baalath. These were their settlements, and they kept the genealogical records.
34 Clan leaders were Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah son of Seraiah son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 and Ziza son of Shiphi son of Allon son of Jedaiah son of Shimri son of Shemaiah.
38 These mentioned by name were leaders in their clans, and their fathers' houses increased greatly. 39 They went near Gedor, on the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 40 They found abundant and good pasture. The land was broad, quiet, and peaceable. The Hamites had formerly lived there. 41 These just listed by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and attacked the Hamite tents and the Meunites, who were there also. They completely destroyed them and lived there because they found pasture for their flocks. 42 From them, from the sons of Simeon, five hundred men went to Mount Seir with Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, as their leader. 43 They defeated the rest of the escaped remnant of Amalekites, and have lived there to this day.
1 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—now Reuben was Israel's firstborn, but his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel because Reuben had defiled his father's couch. So he is not recorded in the genealogy as having the birthright. 2 Judah was the strongest of his brothers, and the leader would come from him. But the birthright was Joseph's— 3 the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel were Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi.
4 The descendants of Joel were these: Joel's son was Shemaiah. Shemaiah's son was Gog. Gog's son was Shimei. 5 Shimei's son was Micah. Micah's son was Reaiah. Reaiah's son was Baal.
6 Baal's son was Beerah, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader in the tribe of Reuben.
7 His kinsmen according to their clans, enrolled in the genealogy by their generations: Jeiel the leader, Zechariah, 8 and Bela son of Azaz son of Shema son of Joel. They lived in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon, 9 and eastward to the start of the wilderness that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead.
10 In the days of Saul, the tribe of Reuben attacked the Hagrites and defeated them. They lived in the Hagrites' tents throughout all the land east of Gilead.
11 The members of the tribe of Gad lived near them, in the land of Bashan as far as Salekah.
12 Joel was their leader; Shapham was second; and Janai and Shaphat in Bashan.
13 Their relatives, by their clans, were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all.
14 These persons named above were the descendants of Abihail, and Abihail was the son of Huri. Huri was the son of Jaroah. Jaroah was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Michael. Michael was the son of Jeshishai. Jeshishai was the son of Jahdo. Jahdo was the son of Buz.
15 Ahi son of Abdiel son of Guni, was head of their clan.
16 They lived in Gilead, in Bashan, in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as its borders. 17 All these were listed by genealogical records in the days of Jotham king of Judah and of Jeroboam king of Israel.
18 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 soldiers skilled in battle, who carried shield and sword and who drew the bow, who could go out to war. 19 They attacked the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 They received divine help against them. In this way, the Hagrites and all who were with them were defeated. This was because the Israelites cried out to God in the battle, and he responded to them, because they put their trust in him. 21 They captured their animals, including fifty thousand camels, 250,000 sheep, two thousand donkeys, and 100,000 men. 22 Many fell because the battle was from God. They lived in their land until the captivity.
23 The sons of the half tribe of Manasseh lived in the land of Bashan as far as Baal Hermon and Senir (that is, Mount Hermon). 24 These were the heads of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses.
25 But they were unfaithful to their ancestors' God. They acted like prostitutes with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 The God of Israel stirred up Pul king of Assyria (also called Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria). He took into exile the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. He brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.
1 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
2 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
3 The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
4 Eleazar became the father of Phinehas, and Phinehas became the father of Abishua.
5 Abishua became the father of Bukki, and Bukki became the father of Uzzi.
6 Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah, and Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth.
7 Meraioth became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub.
8 Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz.
9 Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah, and Azariah became the father of Johanan.
10 Johanan became the father of Azariah, who served as a priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem.
11 Azariah became the father of Amariah, and Amariah became the father of Ahitub.
12 Ahitub became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Shallum.
13 Shallum became the father of Hilkiah, and Hilkiah became the father of Azariah.
14 Azariah became the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah became the father of Jozadak.
15 Jozadak went into captivity when Yahweh exiled Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
16 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
17 The sons of Gershon were named Libni and Shimei.
18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers.
20 The descendants of Gershon: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son.
22 The descendants of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son,
24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.
25 The descendants of Elkanah were Amasai, Ahimoth,
26 Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. [1]
28 The sons of Samuel were the firstborn, Joel, and Abijah, the second-born.
29 The descendants of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,
30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.
31 These are the names of the men whom David put in charge of music in the house of Yahweh, after the ark came to rest there. 32 They served by singing before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem. They fulfilled their duties according to the instructions given to them.
33 These were those who served with their sons. From the clans of the Kohathites came Heman the musician. Here were his ancestors, going back in time: Heman was the son of Joel. Joel was the son of Samuel.
34 Samuel was the son of Elkanah. Elkanah was the son of Jeroham. Jeroham was the son of Eliel. Eliel was the son of Toah.
35 Toah was the son of Zuph. Zuph was the son of Elkanah. Elkanah was the son of Mahath. Mahath was the son of Amasai. Amasai was son of Elkanah.
36 Amasai was the son of Elkanah. Elkanah was the son of Joel. Joel was the son of Azariah. Azariah was the son of Zephaniah.
37 Zephaniah was the son of Tahath. Tahath was the son of Assir. Assir was the son of Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph was the son of Korah.
38 Korah was the son of Izhar. Izhar was the son of Kohath. Kohath was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Israel.
39 Heman's fellow worker was Asaph, who stood at his right hand. Asaph was the son of Berekiah. Berekiah was the son of Shimea.
40 Shimea was the son of Michael. Michael was the son of Baaseiah. Baaseiah was the son of Malkijah. 41 Malkijah was the son of Ethni. Ethni was the son of Zerah. Zerah was the son of Adaiah.
42 Adaiah was the son of Ethan. Ethan was the son of Zimmah. Zimmah was the son of Shimei. 43 Shimei was the son of Jahath. Jahath was the son of Gershon. Gershon was the son of Levi.
44 At Heman's left hand were his fellow workers the sons of Merari. They included Ethan son of Kishi. Kishi was the son of Abdi. Abdi was the son of Malluk. 45 Malluk was the son of Hashabiah. Hashabiah was the son of Amaziah. Amaziah was the son of Hilkiah.
46 Hilkiah was the son of Amzi. Amzi was the son of Bani. Bani was the son of Shemer. 47 Shemer was the son of Mahli. Mahli was the son of Mushi. Mushi was the son of Merari. Merari was the son of Levi.
48 Their associates, the Levites, were assigned to do all the labor for the tabernacle, the house of God. 49 But Aaron and his descendants made the offerings on the altar for burnt offerings; and the offering on the incense altar for all the work on the most holy place. These offerings made atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
50 Aaron's descendants are reckoned as follows: Aaron's son was Eleazar. Eleazar's son was Phinehas. Phinehas' son was Abishua. 51 Abishua's son was Bukki. Bukki's son was Uzzi. Uzzi's son was Zerahiah.
52 Zerahiah's son was Meraioth. Meraioth's son was Amariah. Amariah's son was Ahitub. 53 Ahitub's son was Zadok. Zadok's son was Ahimaaz.
54 These are the locations where Aaron's descendants were assigned to live, that is, for the descendants of Aaron who were from the clans of the Kohathites (the first lot was theirs). 55 To them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its pasturelands, 56 but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh.
57 To the descendants of Aaron they gave: Hebron (a city of refuge), and Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 58 Hilen with its pasturelands, and Debir with its pasturelands. 59 They also gave to the descendants of Aaron: Ashan with its pasturelands, Juttah, [2] and Beth Shemesh with its pasturelands; 60 and from the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands.
All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen cities.
61 To the rest of Kohath's descendants were given by lot ten cities from the half tribe of Manasseh. 62 To Gershon's descendants in their various clans were given thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 63 To Merari's descendants they gave by lot twelve cities, clan by clan, from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 64 So the people of Israel gave these cities with their pasturelands to the Levites. 65 They assigned by lot these towns mentioned by name from the tribes of the sons of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
66 Some of the clans of the descendants of Kohath were given cities from the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. 67 They gave them: Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 68 Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth Horon with its pasturelands, 69 Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath Rimmon with its pasturelands. 70 The half tribe of Manasseh gave the Kohathites Aner with its pasturelands and Bileam with its pasturelands. These became the possessions of the rest of the Kohathite clans.
71 To Gershon's descendants out of the clans of the half tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands.
72 The tribe of Issachar gave to Gershon's descendants Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 73 Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands.
74 Issachar received from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 75 Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands.
76 They received from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands.
77 The rest of Merari's descendants received from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, [3] and Rimmono with its pasturelands and Tabor with its pasturelands;
78 and from the tribe of Reuben, across the Jordan on the east side of Jericho, they received Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, 79 Kedemoth and its pasturelands, and Mephaath and its pasturelands.
80 The Levites received from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 81 Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands.
1 Issachar's four sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Samuel. They were the heads of their clans, from the descendants of Tola and they were listed as mighty warriors among their generations. They numbered 22,600 in the days of David.
3 Uzzi's son was Izrahiah. His sons were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah; all five of them were clan leaders. 4 Along with them, according to the genealogical records of their clans, they had thirty-six thousand troops of the army for battle, for they had many wives and sons.
5 Their relatives from all the clans of Issachar numbered in all eighty-seven thousand mighty warriors, as listed in their genealogy.
6 Benjamin's three sons were Bela, Beker, and Jediael.
7 Bela's sons were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five heads of clans and mighty warriors. There were 22,034 of them recorded in their genealogy.
8 Beker's sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were his sons. 9 Recorded in their genealogy, according to their generations, were 20,200 heads of their clans, mighty warriors.
10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan. Bilhan's sons were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were sons of Jediael. Listed in their clan lists were 17,200 heads of houses and mighty warriors fit for military service.
12 The Shuppites and the Huppites were descendants of Ir, and the Hushites were descendants of Aher.
13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem—the descendants of Bilhah.
14 The descendants of Manasseh were Asriel, who was his descendant through his Aramean concubine. (She gave birth to Makir, the father of Gilead. 15 Then Makir took a wife from the Huppites and Shuppites, and his sister's name was Maakah.) The name of the second was Zelophehad, who had only daughters.
16 Then Maakah, wife of Makir, bore a son and she called him Peresh, and his brother's name was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.
17 The son of Ulam was Bedan. These were the descendants of Gilead, who was the son of Makir, who was the son of Manasseh. 18 Gilead's sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
20 The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son. Ezer and Elead were killed by men of Gath, natives in the land, when they went to steal their livestock. 22 Ephraim their father mourned for them many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 He went to his wife. She conceived and bore a son. Ephraim named him Beriah, because tragedy had come to his family. 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah.
25 Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son,
26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun his son, and Joshua was his son.
28 Their possessions and residences were Bethel and its surrounding villages. They extended eastward to Naaran and westward to Gezer and its villages, and to Shechem and its villages to Ayyah and its villages. 29 On the border with Manasseh were Beth Shan and its villages, Taanach and its villages, Megiddo and its villages, and Dor and its villages. In these towns the descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived.
30 Asher's sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Serah was their sister.
31 Beriah's sons were Heber and Malkiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
32 Heber's sons were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. Shua was their sister.
33 Japhlet's sons were Pasak, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet's children.
34 Shomer, Japhlet's brother, had these sons: Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.
35 Shemer's brother, Helem, had these sons: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
36 Zophah's sons were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera.
38 Jether's sons were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.
39 Ulla's sons were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All these were descendants of Asher. They were heads of clans, distinguished men, mighty warriors, and chief among the leaders. There were twenty-six thousand men listed who were fit for military service recorded in their genealogy.
1 Benjamin's five sons were Bela his firstborn, Ashbel, Aharah,
2 Nohah, and Rapha.
3 Bela's sons were Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.
6 These were the descendants of Ehud who were heads of fathers' houses for the inhabitants of Geba, who were compelled to move to Manahath:
7 Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. The last, Gera, led them in their move. He was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.
8 Shaharaim became the father of children in the land of Moab, after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. 9 By his wife Hodesh, Shaharaim became the father of Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malkam, 10 Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. 11 He had already become the father of Abitub and Elpaal by Hushim.
12 Elpaal's sons were Eber, Misham, and Shemed (who built Ono and Lod with its surrounding villages). 13 There were also Beriah and Shema. They were heads of the fathers' houses of those living in Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.
14 Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah.
17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.
19 Jakim, Zikri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.
22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zikri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.
26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zikri were the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were heads of clans—according to the genealogical records they were heads. These were the chief men who dwelled in Jerusalem.
29 The father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maakah, lived in Gibeon. 30 His firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, and Zeker. 32 Another of Jeiel's sons was Mikloth, who became the father of Shimeah. They also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.
33 Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.
34 The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal. Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.
35 The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melek, Tarea, and Ahaz.
36 Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah. Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza. 37 Moza was the father of Binea. Binea was the father of Raphah. Raphah was the father of Eleasah. Eleasah was the father of Azel.
38 Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were sons of Azel.
39 The sons of Eshek, his brother, were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40 Ulam's sons were mighty warriors and archers. They had many sons and grandsons, a total of 150. All these belonged to the descendants of Benjamin.
1 So all Israel was recorded in genealogies. They were recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. As for Judah, they were carried away in exile to Babylon because of their faithlessness. 2 The first to resettle in their possessions, in their cities, were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants. 3 Some descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem.
4 The settlers included Uthai son of Ammihud son of Omri son of Imri son of Bani, one of the descendants of Perez son of Judah.
5 Among the Shelanites were Asaiah the firstborn and his sons.
6 Among the descendants of Zerah was Jeuel. Their relatives numbered 690.
7 Among the descendants of Benjamin was Sallu son of Meshullam son of Hodaviah son of Hassenuah.
8 There were also Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi son of Mikri; and Meshullam son of Shephatiah son of Reuel son of Ibnijah.
9 Their kinsmen, according to the genealogical records, numbered 956. All these men were heads of fathers' houses for their fathers' houses.
10 The priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jakin.
11 There was also Azariah son of Hilkiah son of Meshullam son of Zadok son of Meraioth son of Ahitub, the one in charge of the house of God.
12 There was Adaiah son of Jeroham son of Pashhur son of Malkijah. There was also Maasai son of Adiel son of Jahzerah son of Meshullam son of Meshillemith son of Immer.
13 Their relatives, who were leaders of their clans, numbered 1,760. They were very capable men for the work of service in the house of God.
14 Among the Levites, there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub son of Azrikam son of Hashabiah, among the descendants of Merari. 15 There were also Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah son of Mika son of Zikri son of Asaph. 16 There were also Obadiah son of Shemaiah son of Galal son of Jeduthun; and Berekiah son of Asa son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.
17 The doorkeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their leader. 18 Previously they stood guard at the king's gate on the east side for the camp of Levi's descendants. 19 Shallum son of Kore son of Ebiasaph, [1] son of Korah, and his relatives from his clan, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the guard service. They guarded the door to the tent, as their ancestors had guarded the camp of Yahweh, and they also had guarded the entrance. 20 Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of them in the past, and Yahweh had been with him. 21 Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was guard of the entrance to the tent of meeting. 22 All those who were chosen as gatekeepers at the entrances numbered 212. Their names were recorded in the people's genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust. 23 So they and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the house of Yahweh, that is called the house of the tabernacle. 24 The gatekeepers were posted on all four sides, toward the east, west, north, and south. 25 Their brothers, who lived in their villages, came in for seven-day rotations, in turn. 26 But the four leaders of the gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and with the storerooms in the house of God. 27 They would stay overnight in their posts all around the house of God, for they were responsible for guarding it. They would open it each morning.
28 Some of them were in charge of the temple's equipment; they counted the articles when they were brought in and when they were taken out. 29 Some of them also were assigned to take care of the holy things, the equipment, and the supplies, including the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, and the spices. 30 Some of the priests' sons mixed the spices. 31 Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was in charge of preparing bread for the offerings. 32 Some of their brothers, descendants of the Kohathites, were in charge of the bread of the presence, to prepare it every Sabbath.
33 The singers and heads of the Levites' clans lived in rooms at the sanctuary when they were free from work, because they had to carry out their assigned tasks day and night. 34 These were leaders of the clans of the Levites, according to the genealogical records, chief men. They lived in Jerusalem.
35 The father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maakah, lived in Gibeon. 36 His firstborn son was Abdon, then his sons Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. 38 Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They also lived near their brothers in Jerusalem.
39 Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.
40 The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal. Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.
41 The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melek, Tahrea, and Ahaz.
42 Ahaz was the father of Jadah. Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza. 43 Moza became the father of Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.
44 Azel had six sons, and their names were Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were Azel's sons.
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel. Every man of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines closely pursued Saul and his son. The Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, his sons. 3 The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers overtook him, and they wounded him. 4 Then said Saul to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it. Otherwise, these uncircumcised will come and abuse me." But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell on his sword in the same way and died. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, so all his household members died together.
7 When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in them. 8 It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They stripped him and took his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout Philistia to carry the news to their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his skull to the temple of Dagon. 11 When all Jabesh Gilead heard of all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the fighting men went and took away the body of Saul and those of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
13 So Saul died for the faithless act with which he acted faithlessly against Yahweh. He did not obey Yahweh's instructions, but asked for advice from someone who talked with the dead. 14 He did not seek guidance from Yahweh, so Yahweh killed him and turned over the kingdom to David son of Jesse.
1 Then all Israel gathered together with David at Hebron and said, "Look, we are your flesh and bone. 2 In the recent past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led the Israelite army. Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become a ruler over my people Israel.'" 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them before Yahweh. They anointed David king over Israel. In this way, the word of Yahweh that had been declared by Samuel came true.
4 David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). Now the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. 5 The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, "You will not come in here." But David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 6 David had said, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites first will become chief and commander." So Joab son of Zeruiah attacked first, so he was made the chief. 7 Then David began to live in the stronghold. So they called it the city of David. 8 He built the city all around from the Millo and back to the surrounding wall. Joab restored the rest of the city. 9 David became greater and greater because Yahweh of hosts was with him.
10 These were the leaders David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, obeying the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. 11 This is a list of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, the son of a Hakmonite, was commander of the officers. [1] He killed three hundred men with his spear on one occasion. 12 After him was Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. 13 He was with David at Pas Dammim, and there the Philistines assembled together for battle, where there was a barley field and the army fled from the Philistines. 14 They stood in the middle of the field. They defended it and cut down the Philistines and Yahweh rescued them with a great victory.
15 Then three of the thirty leaders went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam. The army of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. 16 At that time David was in his stronghold, a cave, while the Philistines had established their camp at Bethlehem. 17 David was longing for water and said, "If only someone would give me water to drink from the well at Bethlehem, the well that is by the gate!" 18 So these three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, the well at the gate. They took the water and brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to Yahweh. 19 Then he said, "Far be it for me before God that I should ever do this! Should I drink the blood of these men who have risked their lives?" Because they had put their lives at risk, David refused to drink it. These were the deeds of the three mighty men.
20 Abishai brother of Joab was captain over the Three. He once used his spear against three hundred and killed them. He had a name along with the Three. 21 Of the Three, he was given double honor and became their captain, even though he was not one of them.
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave warrior from Kabzeel, who did great deeds. He killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a day when the snow was falling. 23 He even killed an Egyptian, a man five cubits tall. The Egyptian had a spear like a weaver's beam, but he went down to him with only a staff. He seized the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. 24 Benaiah son of Jehoiada did these feats, and he was named alongside the three mighty men. 25 He was more highly regarded than the thirty soldiers in general, but he was not regarded quite as highly as the three mighty men. Yet David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
26 The mighty warriors were Asahel brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
27 Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,
28 Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite,
29 Sibbekai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,
30 Maharai the Netophathite, Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,
31 Ithai son of Ribai of Gibeah of Benjamin's descendants, Benaiah the Pirathonite,
32 Hurai of the valleys of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,
33 Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
34 the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite,
35 Ahiam son of Sakar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur,
36 Hepher the Mekerathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,
37 Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai son of Ezbai,
38 Joel brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri,
39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite (the armor bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah),
40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai,
42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite (a chief of the Reubenites) and thirty with him,
43 Hanan son of Maakah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,
44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel sons of Hotham the Aroerite,
45 Jediael son of Shimri, Joha (his brother the Tizite),
46 Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite,
47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
1 These were the men who came to David to Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the soldiers, his helpers in battle. 2 They were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow. They were Benjamites, Saul's kinsmen.
3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite. There were Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth. There were also Berakah, Jehu the Anathothite, 4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a soldier among the thirty (and in command of the thirty); Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, 5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, 6 the Korahites Elkanah, Ishiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, and 7 Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
8 Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were mighty warriors, men of war, ready for battle, who could handle shield and spear; whose faces were as fierce as the faces of lions. They were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.
9 There were Ezer the leader, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,
10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,
11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,
12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
13 Jeremiah the tenth, Makbannai the eleventh. 14 These sons of Gad were leaders of the army. The least led a hundred, and the greatest led a thousand. 15 They crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it overflowed its banks, and caused all those living in the valleys to flee, both toward the east and toward the west.
16 Some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. 17 David went out to meet them and addressed them: "If you have come in peace to me to help me, my heart will be joined with you. But if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, may the God of our ancestors see and rebuke you, since I have done no wrong." 18 Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, who was chief of the thirty. Amasai said, "We are yours, David. We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace, may peace be to whoever helps you. May peace be to your helpers, for your God is helping you." Then David received them and made them commanders over his men.
19 Some from Manasseh also deserted to David when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle. Yet they did not help the Philistines, because the Philistine lords consulted with each other and sent David away. They said, "He will desert to his master Saul at the risk of our lives." 20 When he went to Ziklag, the men of Manasseh who joined him were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, captains over thousands of Manasseh. 21 They helped David fight against the roving bands, for they were mighty warriors. Later they became commanders in the army. 22 Day after day, men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.
23 This is the record of the armed soldiers for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, which carried out Yahweh's word.
24 The men of Judah who carried shield and spear were 6,800, armed for war.
25 From the Simeonites there were 7,100 mighty warriors trained for war.
26 From the Levites there were 4,600 fighting men. 27 Jehoiada was the leader of Aaron's descendants, and with him were 3,700. 28 With Zadok, a young man, a mighty warrior, were twenty-two leaders from his clan.
29 From Benjamin, Saul's kinsmen, were three thousand. Most of them had kept watch over the house of Saul until this time.
30 From the Ephraimites there were 20,800 mighty warriors, men who were famous in their clans.
31 From the half tribe of Manasseh there were eighteen thousand famous men who came to make David king.
32 From Issachar, there were two hundred leaders who had understanding of the times and knew what Israel ought to do. All their relatives were under their command.
33 From Zebulun there were fifty thousand fighting men, prepared for battle, with all the weapons of war, and ready to give undivided loyalty.
34 From Naphtali there were one thousand officers, and with them thirty-seven thousand men with shields and spears.
35 From the Danites there were 28,600 men prepared for battle.
36 From Asher there were forty thousand men of war prepared for battle.
37 From the other side of the Jordan, from the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 men armed with all kinds of weapons for war.
38 All these soldiers, equipped for battle, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel were in agreement to make David king also. 39 They were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their relatives had sent them with provisions. 40 In addition, those who were near to them, as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, and cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, wine, oil, cattle and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.
1 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. 2 David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if this comes from Yahweh our God, let us send messengers everywhere to our brothers who remain in all the regions of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are in their cities. Let them be told to come together with us. 3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to ourselves, for we did not seek his will in the days of Saul's reign." 4 The whole assembly agreed to do these things, because in the eyes of all the people they seemed to be what was right. 5 So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. 6 David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, Kiriath Jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by Yahweh's name, Yahweh, who sits enthroned over the cherubim. 7 So they set the ark of God on a new cart. They brought it out of Abinadab's house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. 8 David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might. They were singing with harps and lutes, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
9 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out with his hand to grab the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Uzzah, and Yahweh killed him because Uzzah had reached out with his hand to the ark. He died there before God. 11 David was angry because Yahweh had attacked Uzzah. That place is called Perez Uzzah to this day. 12 David was afraid of God that day. He said, "How can I bring the ark of God home to me?" 13 So David did not move the ark to the city of David, but put it aside in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 14 The ark of God remained in Obed-Edom's household in his house for three months. So Yahweh blessed his house and all that he possessed.
1 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, carpenters, and masons. They built a house for him. 2 David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was exalted on high for the sake of his people Israel.
3 In Jerusalem, David took more wives, and he became the father of more sons and daughters. 4 These were the names of the children who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 5 Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, 6 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7 Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.
8 Now when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed as king over all Israel, they all went out looking for him. But David heard about it and went out against them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the Valley of Rephaim. 10 Then David asked for help from God. He said, "Should I attack the Philistines? Will you give victory over them?" Yahweh said to him, "Attack, for I will certainly give them to you." 11 So they came up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He commented, "God has burst through my enemies by my hand like a bursting flood of water." So the name of that place became Baal Perazim. 12 The Philistines abandoned their gods there, and David gave an order that they should be burned.
13 Then the Philistines raided the valley yet again. 14 So David asked for help from God again. God said to him, "You must not attack their front, but rather circle around behind them and come on them through the balsam woods. 15 When you hear the sound of marching in the wind blowing through the balsam treetops, then attack with force. Do this because God will have gone out before you to attack the army of the Philistines." 16 So David did as God had commanded him. He defeated the army of the Philistines from Gibeon all the way to Gezer. 17 Then David's fame went out into all lands, and Yahweh caused all nations to fear him.
1 David built houses for himself in the city of David. He prepared a place for the ark of God and set up a tent for it. 2 Then David said, "Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for they had been chosen by Yahweh to carry the ark of Yahweh, and to serve him forever." 3 Then David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Yahweh to the place he had prepared for it. 4 David gathered together Aaron's descendants and the Levites.
5 From the descendants of Kohath, there was Uriel the leader and his relatives, 120 men.
6 From the descendants of Merari, there was Asaiah the leader and his relatives, 220 men.
7 From the descendants of Gershom, there was Joel the leader and his relatives, 130 men.
8 From the descendants of Elizaphan, there was Shemaiah the leader and his relatives, 200 men.
9 From the descendants of Hebron, there was Eliel the leader and his relatives, eighty men.
10 From the descendants of Uzziel, there was Amminadab the leader and his relatives, 112 men. 11 David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, "You are the leaders of the Levite families. Consecrate yourselves, both you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 You did not carry it the first time. That is why Yahweh our God broke out against us, for we did not seek him or obey his decree." 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 15 So the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded—following the rules given by the word of Yahweh.
16 David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to assign their brothers as singers who would play loudly on musical instruments, lutes and lyres and loud cymbals, to lift up sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel and one of his brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah. They also appointed kinsmen from Merari's descendants and Ethan son of Kushaiah. 18 With them were their kinsmen of second rank: Zechariah, [1] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. 19 The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were appointed to play loud bronze cymbals. 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played the lutes, set to Alamoth. 21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah led the way with harps set to the Sheminith. 22 Kenaniah, leader of the Levites, was the director of the singing because he was a teacher of music. 23 Berekiah and Elkanah were guards for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were guards for the ark.
25 So David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of Obed-Edom's house with rejoicing. 26 While God helped the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and Kenaniah, the leader of the song with the singers. David was wearing a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh with joyful shouting, and with the sound of horns and trumpets, with cymbals, and with lutes and harps.
29 But as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came to the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul, looked out the window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating. Then she despised him in her heart.
1 They brought in the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent that David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. 2 When David had finished offering up the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh. 3 He distributed to every man of Israel, to both men and women, a loaf of bread, and a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.
4 David appointed certain Levites to serve before the ark of Yahweh, and to celebrate, thank and praise Yahweh, the God of Israel. 5 These Levites were Asaph the leader, and second to him Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. These were to play with lutes and harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals, sounding loudly. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly, before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day David first appointed Asaph and his brothers to sing this song of thanksgiving to Yahweh.
8 Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations.
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
speak of all his marvelous deeds.
10 Boast in his holy name;
let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
11 Seek Yahweh and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
12 Recall the marvelous things he has done,
his miracles and the decrees from his mouth,
13 you descendants of Israel his servant,
you people of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is Yahweh, our God.
His decrees are on all the earth.
15 Keep his covenant in mind forever,
the word that he commanded for a thousand generations.
16 He calls to mind the covenant that he made with Abraham,
and his oath to Isaac.
17 This is what he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
and to Israel as an everlasting covenant.
18 He said, "I will give you the land of Canaan
as the assigned portion of your inheritance."
19 When they were only few in number,
so very few, and they were strangers in the land,
20 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
21 He did not allow anyone to oppress them;
he punished kings for their sakes.
22 He said, "Do not touch my anointed ones,
and do not harm my prophets."
23 Sing to Yahweh, all the earth;
announce his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all the nations.
25 For Yahweh is great and is to be praised greatly,
and he is to be feared above all other gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but it is Yahweh who made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are in his presence.
Strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to Yahweh, you clans of peoples,
ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory his name deserves.
Bring an offering and come before him.
Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor of holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth.
The world also is established; it cannot be shaken.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let them say among the nations, "Yahweh reigns."
32 Let the sea roar, and that which fills it shout with joy.
Let the fields be joyful, and all that is in them.
33 Then let the trees in the forest shout for joy before Yahweh,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.
35 Then say, "Save us, God of our salvation.
Gather us together and rescue us from the other nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praises."
36 May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised
from everlasting to everlasting.
All the people said, "Amen" and praised Yahweh.
37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, to serve continually before the ark, as every day's work required. 38 Obed-Edom with those sixty-eight relatives were included. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, along with Hosah, were to be gatekeepers. 39 Zadok the priest and his fellow workers were to serve before the tabernacle of Yahweh at the high place in Gibeon. 40 They were to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar for burnt offerings continually morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of Yahweh, which he gave as a command to Israel. 41 Heman and Jeduthun were with them, together with the rest who were chosen by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his covenant faithfulness endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun were in charge of those who played trumpets, cymbals, and the other instruments for the sacred music. The sons of Jeduthun guarded the gate. 43 Then all the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own household.
1 It happened that after David had settled in his house, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh is staying under a tent." 2 Then Nathan said to David, "Go, do what is in your heart, for God is with you." 3 But that same night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 "Go and tell David my servant, 'This is what Yahweh says: You will not build me a house in which to live. 5 For I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought up Israel to this present day. Rather, I have been living in a tent, a tabernacle, in various places. 6 In all places I have moved among all Israel, did I ever say anything to any of Israel's judges, whom I appointed to shepherd my people, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'" 7 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what Yahweh of hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, so that you would be ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make you a name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth. 9 I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them there, so that they may live in their own place and be troubled no more. No longer will wicked people oppress them, as they did before, 10 as they were doing from the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Then I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover I tell you that I, Yahweh, will build you a house. 11 It will come about that when your days are fulfilled for you to go to your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, and for one of your own descendants, I will establish his kingdom. 12 He will build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be a Father to him, and he will be my son. I will not take my covenant faithfulness away from him, as I took it from Saul, who ruled before you. 14 I will set him over my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.'"
15 Nathan spoke to David and reported to him all these words, and he told him about the entire vision.
16 Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh; he said, "Who am I, Yahweh God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this point? 17 For this was a small thing in your sight, God. You have spoken of your servant's family for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, Yahweh God. 18 What more can I, David, say to you? You have honored your servant. You have given your servant special recognition. 19 Yahweh, for your servant's sake, and to fulfill your own purpose, you have done this great thing to reveal all your great deeds. 20 Yahweh, there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, just as we have always heard. 21 For what nation on earth is like your people Israel, whom you, God, rescued from Egypt as a people for yourself, to make a name for yourself by great and awesome deeds? You drove out nations from before your people, whom you rescued from Egypt. 22 You made Israel your own people forever, and you, Yahweh, became their God. 23 So now, Yahweh, may the promise that you made concerning your servant and his family be established forever. Do as you have spoken. 24 May your name be established forever and be great, so the people will say, 'Yahweh of hosts is the God of Israel,' while the house of me, David, your servant is established before you. 25 For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house. That is why I, your servant, have found courage to pray to you. 26 Now, Yahweh, you are God, and have made this good promise to your servant: 27 Now it has pleased you to bless your servant's house, that it may continue forever before you. You, Yahweh, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."
1 After this it came about that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. He took Gath and its villages out of the Philistines' control. 2 Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and paid him tribute.
3 David then defeated Hadadezer, king of Zobah at Hamath, as Hadadezer was traveling to establish his rule by the Euphrates River. 4 David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand Aramean men. 6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became servants to him and brought him tribute. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 David took the golden shields that were on Hadadezer's servants and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah and Kun, cities of Hadadezer, David took very much bronze. It was with this bronze that Solomon later made the bronze basin called "The Sea," the pillars, and the bronze equipment.
9 When Tou, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 Tou sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him. He did this because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, and because Tou had often been at war with Hadadezer. Tou also sent David many different sorts of articles made of gold and silver and bronze. 11 King David set these objects apart to Yahweh, together with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations: Edom, Moab, the people of Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek.
12 Abishai son of Zeruiah killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.
14 David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and righteousness to all his people. 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was the commander of the army, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder. 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was scribe. 17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites, and David's sons were the chief officials at the hand of the king.
1 It came about later that Nahash, king of the people of Ammon, died, and that his son became king in his place. 2 David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. David's servants entered the land of the Ammonites and went to Hanun, in order to comfort him. 3 But the Ammonite princes said to Hanun, "Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent men to comfort you? Do not his servants come to you to explore and examine the land in order to overthrow it?" 4 So Hanun seized David's servants, shaved them, cut off their robes in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they explained this to David, he sent to meet with them, for the men were deeply ashamed. The king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return."
6 When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire Aramean chariots and horsemen from Naharaim, Maakah, and Zobah. 7 They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maakah and his army, who came and encamped before Medeba. Then the Ammonites gathered themselves together from their cities and came out to battle. 8 When David heard of it, he sent Joab and his entire host of mighty men. 9 The people of Ammon came out and lined up for battle at the city gate, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.
10 When Joab saw the battle lines facing him both in front and behind, he chose some of Israel's best fighters and arranged them against the Arameans. 11 As for the rest of the army, he gave it into the command of Abishai his brother, and he put them into battle lines against the army of Ammon. 12 Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you, Abishai, must rescue me. But if the army of Ammon is too strong for you, then I will come and rescue you. 13 Be strong, and let us show ourselves to be strong for our people and for the cities of our God, for Yahweh will do what is good in his eyes." 14 So Joab and the soldiers of his army advanced to the battle against the Arameans, who were forced to flee before the army of Israel. 15 When the army of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Joab's brother Abishai and went back into the city. Then Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went back to Jerusalem.
16 When the Arameans saw that they were being defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought back Arameans from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophak the commander of Hadadezer's army. 17 When David was told this, he gathered all Israel together, crossed the Jordan, and came upon them. He arranged the army for battle against the Arameans, and they fought him. 18 The Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed seven thousand Aramean charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophak, the commander of the army. 19 When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. So the people of Aram were no longer willing to rescue the Ammonites.
1 It came about in the spring of the year, at the time when kings normally go to war, that Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah. David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and completely destroyed it. 2 David took the crown of their king from off his head, and he found that it weighed a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones. The crown was set on David's head, and he brought out the plunder of the city in large quantities. 3 He brought out the people who were in the city and forced them to work with saws and iron picks and axes. David required all the cities of the descendants of Ammon to do this labor. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
4 It came about after this that there was a battle at Gezer with the Philistines. Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and the Philistines were subdued. 5 It came about again in a battle with the Philistines at Gob, that Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed Lahmi brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 6 It came about in another battle at Gath that there was a man of great height who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He also was descended from the Rapha. 7 When he mocked the army of Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. 8 These were descendants of the Rapha of Gath, and they were killed by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
1 An adversary arose against Israel and incited David to count Israel. 2 David said to Joab and to the commanders of the army, "Go, count the people of Israel from Beersheba to Dan and report back to me, that I may know their number." 3 Joab said, "May Yahweh make his army a hundred times greater than it is. But my master the king, do they not all serve my master? Why does my master want this? Why bring guilt on Israel?" 4 But the king's word was enforced against Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel. Then he came back to Jerusalem. 5 Then Joab reported the total of the census of the fighting men to David. There were in Israel 1,100,000 men who drew the sword. Judah alone had 470,000 soldiers. 6 But Levi and Benjamin were not counted among them, for the king's command had disgusted Joab. 7 God was offended by this action, so he attacked Israel. 8 David said to God, "I have greatly sinned by doing this. Now take away your servant's guilt, for I have acted very foolishly."
9 Yahweh told Gad, David's prophet, 10 "Go say to David, 'This is what Yahweh says: I am giving you three choices. Choose one of them.'" 11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "Yahweh says this, 'Choose one of these: 12 either three years of famine, three months being pursued by your enemies and being caught by their swords, or else three days of Yahweh's sword, that is, a plague in the land, with the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the land of Israel.' Now then, decide what answer I should take to the one who sent me." 13 Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress! Let me fall into the hand of Yahweh rather than into the hand of man, for his merciful actions are very great." 14 So Yahweh sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand people died. 15 God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy it, Yahweh watched and changed his mind about the harm. He said to the destroying angel, "Enough! Now draw back your hand." At that time the angel of Yahweh was standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 David looked up and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand raised over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, lay facedown on the ground. 17 David said to God, "Is it not I that commanded that the army be numbered? I did this wicked thing. But these sheep, what have they done? Yahweh my God! Let your hand strike me and my clan, but do not let the plague remain on your people."
18 So the angel of Yahweh commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar for Yahweh at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of Yahweh. 20 While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel. He and his four sons with him hid themselves. 21 When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David. He left the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, "Sell me this threshing floor, so I can build an altar for Yahweh. I will pay the full price, so that the plague may be removed from the people." 23 Ornan said to David, "Take it as your own, my master the king. Do with it what is good in your sight. Look, I will give you oxen for burnt offerings, threshing sledges for wood, and wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all to you." 24 King David said to Ornan, "No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and offer it as a burnt offering to Yahweh if it costs me nothing." 25 So David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the place. 26 David built an altar for Yahweh there and offered on it burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on Yahweh, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar for burnt offerings. 27 Then Yahweh gave an order to the angel, and the angel put his sword back into its sheath.
28 When David saw that Yahweh had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he performed the sacrifice there at that same time. 29 Now at that time, Yahweh's tabernacle, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar for burnt offerings, were at the high place at Gibeon. 30 However, David could not go there to ask for God's direction, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of Yahweh.
1 Then David said, "This is where the house of Yahweh God will be, with the altar for the burnt offerings of Israel."
2 So David ordered his servants to gather together the foreigners living in the land of Israel. He assigned them to be stonecutters, to cut stone blocks, in order to build the house of God. 3 David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails for the doors to go in the gateways, and for braces. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed, 4 and more cedar trees than could be counted. (The Sidonians and the Tyrians brought too many cedar logs to David to count.) 5 David said, "My son Solomon is a young and inexperienced man, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh must be especially magnificent, so that it will be famous and glorious in all other lands. So I will prepare for its building." So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for Solomon his son and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, "My son, it was my intention to build a house myself, for the name of Yahweh my God. 8 But Yahweh came to me and said, 'You have shed much blood and have fought many battles. You will not build a house for my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 However, you will have a son who will be a peaceful man. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. For his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his Father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' 11 Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and enable you to succeed. May you build the house of Yahweh your God, as he said you would. 12 Only may Yahweh give you insight and understanding, so that you may obey the law of Yahweh your God, when he places you in charge over Israel. 13 Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the statutes and the decrees that Yahweh gave to Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be discouraged. 14 Now, see, with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh 100,000 talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron in large quantities. I have also provided timber and stone. You must add more to all this. 15 You have many workmen with you: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and skillful craftsmen without number of every kind, 16 who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and begin the work, and may Yahweh be with you."
17 David also ordered all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 "Yahweh your God is with you and has given you peace on every side. He has given the region's inhabitants into my hand. The region is subdued before Yahweh and his people. 19 Now seek Yahweh your God with all your heart and your soul. Get up and build the holy place of Yahweh God. Then you can bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy things that belong to God into the house built for Yahweh's name."
1 When David was old and near the end of his life, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites. 3 The Levites who were thirty years old and older were counted in a census, and they numbered thirty-eight thousand. 4 "Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work on the house of Yahweh, and six thousand were officers and judges. 5 Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise Yahweh with the instruments that I made to give praise," David said. 6 David divided them into groups that corresponded to Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 From the clans descended from Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.
8 There were three of Ladan's sons: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, and Joel.
9 There were three of Shimei's sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the leaders of the clans of Ladan.
10 There were four of Shimei's sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
11 Jahath was the oldest, and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered as one clan with the same duties.
12 There were four of Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13 These were Amram's sons: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was chosen to set apart the most holy things, that he and his descendants would offer incense before Yahweh, to serve him and to give blessings in his name forever. 14 But as for Moses the man of God, his descendants were counted with the tribe of Levi.
15 Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Gershom's descendant was Shubael the oldest.
17 Eliezer's descendant was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
18 Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.
19 Hebron's descendants were Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 Uzziel's sons were Micah the oldest, and Ishiah the second.
21 Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having any sons. He had only daughters. So their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 Mushi's three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
24 These were Levi's descendants corresponding to their clans. They were the leaders, counted and listed by name in the census, of the clans that did the work in the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He makes his home in Jerusalem forever. 26 The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all the equipment used in its service." 27 For by David's last words the Levites were counted, from twenty years old and upward. 28 Their duty was to assist Aaron's descendants in the service of the house of Yahweh. They were to care for the courtyards, the rooms, the ceremonial purification of all the things that belong to Yahweh, and other work in the service of the house of God. 29 They also took care of the bread of the presence, the fine flour for grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baked offerings, the offerings mixed with oil, and all the measuring of the amounts and sizes of things. 30 They also stood every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. They also did this in the evening 31 and whenever burnt offerings were offered to Yahweh, on the Sabbath and at the new moon festivals and feast days. A fixed number, assigned by decree, always had to be present before Yahweh. 32 They were in charge of the tent of meeting, the holy place, and helped their kinsmen the descendants of Aaron in the service of the house of Yahweh.
1 The work groups based on Aaron's descendants were these: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 Nadab and Abihu died before their father died. They had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. 3 David, together with Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelek, a descendant of Ithamar, divided them into groups for their labor as priests. 4 There were more leading men among Eleazar's descendants than among Ithamar's descendants, so they divided Eleazar's descendants into sixteen groups. They did this by heads of clans and by Ithamar's descendants. These divisions were eight in number, corresponding to their clans. 5 They divided them impartially by lot, for there were holy officials and officials of God, from both Eleazar's descendants and Ithamar's descendants. 6 Shemaiah son of Nethanel the scribe, a Levite, wrote down their names in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar, and the leaders of the priestly and Levite families. One clan was drawn by lot from Eleazar's descendants, and then the next would be drawn from Ithamar's descendants.
7 The first lot went to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
8 the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
9 the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
11 the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shekaniah,
12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
14 the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
15 the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,
17 the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
18 the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
19 This was the order of their service, when they came into the house of Yahweh, following the ordinance given to them by Aaron their ancestor, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20 These were the rest of the descendants of Levi: Of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.
21 As for Rehabiah, the sons of Rehabiah: Ishiah the leader.
22 From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.
23 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the leader, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
24 The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.
25 The brother of Micah: Ishiah. From the sons of Ishiah: Zechariah.
26 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; from the son of Jaaziah: Beno.
27 The sons of Merari from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.
28 From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 From Kish: The son of Kish: Jerahmeel.
30 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the Levites, listed by their clans. 31 These men who were the head of each clan and each of their younger brothers, cast lots in the presence of King David, and Zadok and Ahimelek, along with the leaders of the families of the priests and Levites. They cast lots just as Aaron's descendants had done.
1 David and the leaders of the army selected some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with lutes and harps, and with cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service:
2 From the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, [1] the sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the king's supervision.
3 From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, [2] Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, playing the harp for giving thanks and praising Yahweh.
4 From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, [3] Shubael, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's prophet. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters to lift up his horn.
6 All these were under the direction of their fathers. They were musicians in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, lutes and lyres, as they served in the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king's supervision. 7 They and their brothers who were skilled and trained to make music to Yahweh numbered 288. 8 They cast lots for their duties, all alike, the same for the young as well as the old, the teacher as well as the student.
9 Now regarding Asaph's sons: The first lot fell to Joseph's family; the second fell to Gedaliah's family, twelve persons in number; 10 the third fell to Zakkur, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 11 the fourth fell to Izri, [4] his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 12 the fifth fell to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 13 the sixth fell to Bukkiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 14 the seventh fell to Jesarelah, [5] his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 15 the eighth fell to Jeshaiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 16 the ninth fell to Mattaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 17 the tenth fell to Shimei, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 18 the eleventh fell to Azarel, [6] his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 19 the twelfth fell to Hashabiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 20 the thirteenth fell to Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 21 the fourteenth fell to Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 22 the fifteenth fell to Jerimoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 23 the sixteenth fell to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 24 the seventeenth fell to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 25 the eighteenth fell to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 26 the nineteenth fell to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 27 the twentieth fell to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 28 the twenty-first fell to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 29 the twenty-second fell to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 30 the twenty-third fell to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number; 31 the twenty-fourth fell to Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve persons in number.
1 Here were the divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites, Meshelemiah son of Kore, a descendant of Asaph [1] .
2 Meshelemiah [2] had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,
3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.
4 Obed-Edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sakar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth,
5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth, for God had blessed Obed-Edom.
6 To Shemaiah his son were born sons who ruled over their clans; they were men of great ability. 7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. His relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also men with many abilities. 8 All these were descendants of Obed-Edom. They and their sons and relatives were men capable of doing their duties in the tabernacle service. There were sixty-two of them related to Obed-Edom.
9 Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, capable men, eighteen in all.
10 Hosah, a descendant of Merari, had sons: Shimri the leader (although he was not the firstborn, his father made him leader), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tabaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth. All of Hosah's sons and kinsmen were thirteen in number.
12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their leaders, had responsibilities, like their relatives, to serve in the house of Yahweh. 13 They threw lots, both young and old, corresponding to their clans, for every gate. 14 When the lot was cast for the east gate, it fell to Shelemiah [3] . They then cast lots for Zechariah his son, a prudent advisor, and his lot came out for the north gate. 15 To Obed-Edom was assigned the south gate, and his sons were assigned the storehouses. 16 Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate along with the gate of Shalleketh, on the upper road. The guards were very close to each other. 17 On the east were six Levites, on the north four a day, on the south four a day, and at the storehouses two pairs. 18 At the pillar to the west there were four stationed at the road and two at the pillar [4]19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were the descendants of Korah and Merari.
20 Among the Levites, Ahijah was in charge of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the things that belong to Yahweh. 21 The descendants of Ladan, who were descendants of the Gershonites through Ladan, who were heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli 22 and the sons of Jehieli: Zetham and Joel his brother. They were in charge of the treasuries of the house of Yahweh. 23 From the clans of Amram, the clans of Izhar, the clans of Hebron, and the clans of Uzziel:
24 Shubael, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was supervisor over the treasuries. 25 His relatives from the clan of Eliezer were his son Rehabiah, Rehabiah's son Jeshaiah, Jeshaiah's son Joram, Joram's son Zikri, and Zikri's son Shelomith. 26 Shelomith and his relatives were over all the treasuries holding the dedicated things that David the king, the family leaders, commanders over thousands and hundreds, and the army commanders had dedicated. 27 They set apart the plunder won in battles for the upkeep of the house of Yahweh. 28 They were also in charge of everything that was set apart to Yahweh by Samuel the prophet, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah. Everything that was set apart to Yahweh was under the guard of Shelomith and his relatives.
29 Of Izhar's descendants, Kenaniah and his sons were in charge of the civil affairs of Israel. They were officers and judges.
30 Of Hebron's descendants, Hashabiah and his brothers, 1,700 capable men, were in charge of Yahweh's work and the king's work. They were on the west side of the Jordan. 31 As for the Hebronites, Jeriah was the head of the clans, according to the genealogical records. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they examined the records and found among them men of great ability in Jazer of Gilead. 32 Jeriah had 2,700 relatives, who were capable family leaders. David made them overseers over the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and for the king's affairs.
1 This is the list of the family leaders of the people of Israel, commanders of thousands and hundreds, as well as army officers who served the king in various ways. Each military division served month by month throughout the year. Each division had twenty-four thousand men.
2 Over the division for the first month was Jashobeam son of Zabdiel. In his division were twenty-four thousand men. 3 He was among the descendants of Perez and in charge of all the army officers for the first month.
4 Over the division for the second month was Dodai, from the clan descended from Ahoah. Mikloth was second in rank. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
5 The commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a priest and leader. In his division were twenty-four thousand men. 6 This is the Benaiah who was the leader of the thirty, and over the thirty. Ammizabad his son was in his division.
7 The commander for the fourth month was Asahel brother of Joab. Zebadiah his son became commander after him. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
8 The commander for the fifth month was Shamhuth, a descendant of Izrah. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
9 The commander for the sixth month was Ira son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
10 The commander for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, from the people of Ephraim. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
11 The commander for the eighth month was Sibbekai the Hushathite, from the clan descended from Zerah. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
12 The commander for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, from the tribe of Benjamin. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
13 The commander for the tenth month was Maharai from the city of Netophah, from the clan descended from Zerah. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
14 The commander for the eleventh month was Benaiah from the city of Pirathon, from the tribe of Ephraim. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
15 The commander for the twelfth month was Heldai from the city of Netophah, from the clan descended from Othniel. In his division were twenty-four thousand men.
16 These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel: For the tribe of Reuben, Eliezer son of Zichri was the leader. For the tribe of Simeon, Shephatiah son of Maakah was the leader.
17 For the tribe of Levi, Hashabiah son of Kemuel was the leader, and Zadok led Aaron's descendants.
18 For the tribe of Judah, Elihu, one of David's brothers, was the leader. For the tribe of Issachar, Omri son of Michael was the leader.
19 For the tribe of Zebulun, Ishmaiah son of Obadiah was the leader. For the tribe of Naphtali, Jerimoth son of Azriel was the leader.
20 For the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Azaziah was the leader. For the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel son of Pedaiah was the leader.
21 For the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah was the leader. For the tribe of Benjamin, Jaasiel son of Abner was the leader.
22 For the tribe of Dan, Azarel son of Jeroham was the leader. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
23 David did not count those twenty years old or younger, because Yahweh had promised to increase Israel like the stars of heaven. 24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men, but did not finish. Wrath fell on Israel for this. This number was not written down in the Chronicles of King David.
25 Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king's treasuries. Jonathan son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the fortified towers. 26 Ezri son of Kelub was over the farmers, those who plowed the land. 27 Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the grapes and the wine cellars. 28 Over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands was Baal-Hanan from Geder, and over the storehouses of oil was Joash. 29 Over the herds that were pastured in Sharon was Shitrai from Sharon, and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat son of Adlai. 30 Over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite, and over the female donkeys was Jehdeiah from Meronoth. Over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. 31 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these officials were in charge of the property of King David.
32 Jonathan, David's uncle, was an advisor, since he was a wise man and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni cared for the king's sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king's advisor, and Hushai from the Arkite people was the king's private advisor. 34 Ahithophel's position was taken by Jehoiada son of Benaiah, and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king's army.
1 David assembled all the officials of Israel at Jerusalem: the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king in their scheduled work, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the managers over all the property and possessions of the king and of his sons, and the officers and fighting men, including the most skilled of them. 2 Then David the king rose to his feet and said, "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was my intention to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; a footstool for our God, and I have made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, 'You will not build a temple for my name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.' 4 Yet Yahweh, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever. He has chosen Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my father's house, and from all my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 From the many sons whom Yahweh has given me, he chose Solomon, my son, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh, over Israel. 6 He said to me, 'Solomon your son will build my house and my courtyards, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his Father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever, if he remains committed to obey my commandments and decrees, as you are this day.' 8 Now then, in the sight of all Israel, this assembly for Yahweh, and in the presence of our God, all of you must keep and try to carry out all the commandments of Yahweh your God. Do this so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants after you forever.
9 As for you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father, and serve him with your whole heart and a willing spirit. Do this because Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every motivation of everyone's thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 Realize that Yahweh has chosen you to build this temple as his sanctuary. Be strong and do it."
11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the temple portico, the temple buildings, the storerooms, the upper rooms, the inner rooms, and the room with the atonement lid. 12 He gave him the plans he had drawn for the courtyards of the house of Yahweh, all the surrounding rooms, the storerooms in the house of God, and the treasuries for the things that belong to Yahweh. 13 He gave him regulations for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for the assigned responsibilities for the service of the house of Yahweh, and for all the objects for the service in the house of Yahweh. 14 He determined the weight of all the gold vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, 15 the weight of the gold for all the gold articles, to be lampstands and gold lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand, the weight of silver for each silver lampstand, according to the use of each lampstand in the service. 16 He gave the weight of the gold for the tables of the bread of the presence, for every table, and the weight of the silver for the silver tables. 17 He gave the weight of pure gold for the meat forks, basins, and cups. He gave the weight for each of the gold bowls, and the weight of each of the silver bowls. 18 He gave the weight of refined gold for the incense altar, and of the gold for the design of the chariot, the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. 19 David said, "I have put all this in writing as Yahweh directed me and gave me to understand regarding the design."
20 David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and brave. Do the work. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you nor abandon you until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is finished. 21 See, here are the divisions of the priests and Levites for all the service in the house of God. They will be with you, together with all willing and skillful men, to assist you in the work and to perform the service. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your commands."
1 King David said to the whole assembly, "Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced, and the task is great. For the temple is not for people but for Yahweh God. 2 So I have done my best to provide for the temple of my God. I am giving gold for the things to be made of gold, 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, and wood for the things to be made of wood. I am also giving onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work of various colors—all kinds of precious stones—and marble stone in abundance. 3 Now, because of my delight in the house of my God, I am giving my personal treasure of gold and silver for it. I am doing this in addition to all that I have prepared for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents of gold from Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, in order to overlay the walls of the buildings. 5 I am donating gold for the things to be made of gold, and silver for the things to be made of silver, and things for all kinds of work to be done by craftsmen. Who else wants to make a contribution to Yahweh today and give himself to him?"
6 Then freewill offerings were made by the leaders of their ancestors' families, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and by the officials over the king's work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 Those who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of Yahweh, under the supervision of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. 9 The people rejoiced because of these freewill offerings, because they had contributed wholeheartedly to Yahweh. King David also rejoiced greatly.
10 David blessed Yahweh in front of all the assembly. He said, "May you be praised, Yahweh, God of Israel our ancestor, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. For all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as ruler over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all people. In your hand is power and might. You possess the strength and might to make people great and to give strength to anyone. 13 Now then, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the ability to offer so willingly these things? Indeed, all things come from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours. 15 For we are sojourners and tenants before you, as all our ancestors were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope of remaining on earth. 16 Yahweh our God, all this wealth that we have collected in order to build a temple to honor your holy name—it comes from you and belongs to you. 17 I know also, my God, that you examine the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things, and now I look with joy as your people who are present here willingly offer gifts to you. 18 Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—our ancestors—keep this forever in the thoughts of the minds of your people. Direct their hearts toward you. 19 Give to Solomon my son a whole heart to keep your commandments, your covenant decrees, and your statutes, and to carry out all these plans to build the palace for which I have made provision."
20 David said to all the assembly, "Now bless Yahweh your God." All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed down and showed honor to Yahweh and to the king. 21 On the next day, they made sacrifices to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings to him. They offered a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 On that day, they ate and drank before Yahweh with great joy.
They made Solomon, David's son, king a second time, and anointed him with Yahweh's authority to be ruler. They also anointed Zadok to be priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on Yahweh's throne as king in place of David his father. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders, soldiers, and King David's sons gave allegiance to King Solomon. 25 Yahweh greatly honored Solomon before all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had never been given to any king before him in Israel.
26 David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 David had been king of Israel for forty years. He ruled for seven years in Hebron and for thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, after enjoying a long life, wealth and honor. Solomon his son reigned after him. 29 King David's accomplishments are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of Gad the seer. 30 Recorded there are the deeds of his rule, his power and the events that affected him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the other lands.
1 Solomon son of David was strengthened in his rule, and Yahweh his God was with him and made him very powerful. 2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every prince in all Israel, the heads of the fathers' houses. 3 So Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for there was the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of Yahweh, had made in the wilderness. 4 But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place that he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 In addition, the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur was there before the tabernacle of Yahweh; Solomon and the assembly went to it. [1]6 Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before Yahweh, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered one thousand burnt offerings on it.
7 God appeared to Solomon that night and said to him, "Ask! What should I give you?" 8 Solomon said to God, "You have shown great covenant faithfulness to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Yahweh God, let your promise to David my father be carried out, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people, for who can judge your people, who are so many in number?" 11 God said to Solomon, "Because this was in your heart, and because you have not asked for riches, wealth, or honor, nor for the life of those who hate you, nor for long life for yourself, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you might rule my people, over whom I have made you king, this is what I will do. 12 I will now give you wisdom and knowledge. I will also give you riches, wealth, and honor, as none of the kings had before you, and none after you will have." 13 So Solomon came to Jerusalem from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting; he reigned over Israel.
14 Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen, and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen that he placed in the chariot cities, and with himself, the king in Jerusalem. 15 The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as the stones, and he made cedar wood as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowlands. 16 As for the importation of horses from Egypt and Kue for Solomon, the king's merchants bought them from Kue at a price. 17 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150 shekels. They also exported them to the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.
1 Now Solomon commanded the building of a house for Yahweh's name and the building of a palace for his kingdom. 2 Solomon assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads, and eighty thousand men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 men to supervise them. 3 Solomon sent a message to Hiram, the king of Tyre, saying, "As you did with David my father, sending him cedar logs to build a house to live in, do the same with me. 4 See, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, to set it apart to him, to burn incense of sweet spices before him, to set out the bread of the presence, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and on the new moons, and on the appointed feasts for Yahweh our God. This is forever, for Israel. 5 The house that I will build will be very large, for our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build God a house, since the entire universe and even heaven itself cannot contain him? Who am I to build him a house, except to burn sacrifices before him? 7 So send me a man who is skilled at work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue wool, a man who knows how to make all kinds of engraved wood. He will be with the skilled men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8 Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. See, my servants will be with your servants, 9 in order to prepare for me timber in abundance, for the house which I am about to build will be great and marvelous. 10 See, I will give to your servants, the men who will cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil." [1]
11 Then Hiram, the king of Tyre, answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon: "Because Yahweh loves his people, he has made you king over them."
12 In addition, Hiram said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, gifted with prudence and understanding, who will build a house for Yahweh and a royal palace for himself. 13 Now I have sent a skillful man, Huram-Abi, who is gifted with understanding. 14 He is the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan. His father was a man from Tyre. He is skilled at work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and in timber, and in purple, blue, and crimson wool, and fine linen. He is also skilled in making any kind of engraving and in making any kind of design. Let a place be made for him among your skilled workers, and with those of my master, David, your father. 15 Now then, the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, of which my master has spoken, let him send these things to his servants. 16 We will cut wood from Lebanon, as much wood as you need. We will take it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem."
17 Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, following the method that David, his father, had counted them. They were found to be 153,600. 18 He assigned seventy thousand of them to carry loads, eighty thousand to be stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 to be supervisors to put the people to work.
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to David his father. He prepared the place that David had planned for it, at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build on the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. 3 Now these are the dimensions of the foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God. Using the old style cubit, the length was sixty cubits, and the width was twenty cubits. 4 The length of the portico at the front of the house was twenty cubits, matching the building's width. Its height was also twenty cubits, and Solomon overlaid its interior with pure gold. 5 He fashioned the ceiling of the main hall with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold, and which he carved with palm trees and chains. 6 He decorated the house with precious stones; the gold was gold from Parvaim. 7 He also overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold; he carved cherubim on its walls.
8 He built the most holy place. Its length matched the house's width, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid its high surfaces with gold.
10 He made two images of cherubim for the most holy place; craftsmen overlaid them with gold. [1]11 The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long all together; the wing of one cherub was five cubits long, reaching to the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. 12 The wing of the other cherub was also five cubits, reaching to the wall of the room; its other wing was also five cubits, touching the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim spread a total of twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, with their faces toward the main hall. 14 He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson wool and fine linen, and he fashioned cherubim on it.
15 Solomon also made two pillars, each thirty-five cubits high, for in front of the house; the capitals that were on the top of them were five cubits high. 16 He made chains for the pillars and put them on top of them; he also made one hundred pomegranates and joined them to the chains. 17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; he named the pillar on the right Jakin, and the pillar on the left Boaz.
1 Moreover he made an altar of bronze; its length was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits. Its height was ten cubits. 2 He also made the round sea of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim. Its height was five cubits, and the sea was thirty cubits in circumference. 3 Under the brim encircling the sea were bulls, ten to each cubit, cast in one piece with the sea when the sea itself was cast. 4 The large basin known as "The Sea" was set upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east. "The Sea" was set on top of them, and all their hindquarters were toward the inside. 5 "The Sea" was as thick as the width of a hand, and its brim was forged like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. "The Sea" held three thousand baths of water. 6 He made also ten basins for washing things; he put five on the south side, and five on the north; items used in performing the burnt offering were to be washed in them. The large basin known as "The Sea" was used by the priests for them to wash.
7 He made the ten lampstands of gold that were made from the instructions for their design; he placed them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. 8 He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold. 9 Furthermore he made the courtyard of the priests, and the great court and the doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 He placed the basin known as "The Sea" on the east side of the temple, facing toward the south. 11 Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowl-like capitals that were on top of the two pillars, and the two sets of decorative latticework to cover the two bowl-like capitals that were on top of the pillars.
13 He had made the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of decorative latticework: two rows of pomegranates for each set of latticework to cover the two bowl-like capitals that were on the pillars.
14 He also made the stands and the basins to go on the stands;
15 one sea and the twelve bulls under it,
16 also the pots, shovels, meat forks, and all the other implements that Huram-Abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon, for the house of Yahweh. [1]17 The king had cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 18 Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance; indeed, the weight of the bronze could not be known.
19 Solomon made all the furnishings that were in the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables on which the bread of the presence was to be placed;
20 the lampstands with their lamps, that were designed to burn before the inner room—these were made of pure gold;
21 and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold, pure gold.
22 Also the lamp trimmers, basins, spoons, and incense burners were all made of pure gold. As for the entrance into the house, its inner doors into the most holy place and the doors of the house, that is, of the temple, were made of gold.
1 When all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was completed, Solomon brought in the things that David, his father, had set apart for this purpose, including the silver, the gold, and all the furnishings—he placed them into the treasuries of the house of God.
2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the families of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, that is, Zion. 3 All the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4 All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. 5 They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tent. The priests who were of the tribe of Levi brought these things up. 6 King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel came together before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted. 7 The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner room of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and they covered the ark and the poles by which it was carried. 9 The poles that extended from the ark were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner room, but they could not be seen from outside. They are there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
11 It came about that the priests came out of the holy place. All the priests who were present had consecrated themselves to Yahweh, regardless of their divisions. 12 Also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen and playing cymbals, lutes and harps, stood at the east end of the altar. With them were 120 priests blowing trumpets. 13 It came about that the trumpeters and singers made music together, making one sound to be heard for praising and thanking Yahweh. They raised their voices with the trumpets and cymbals and other instruments, and they praised Yahweh. They sang, "For he is good, for his covenant loyalty endures forever." Then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud. 14 The priests could not stand in order to serve because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled his house.
1 Then Solomon said, "Yahweh has said that he would live in thick darkness, 2 but I have built you a lofty residence, a place for you to live in forever." 3 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.
4 He said, "May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised, who spoke to David my father, and has fulfilled it with his own hands, saying, 5 'Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, in order for my name to be there. Neither did I choose any man to be prince over my people Israel. 6 However, I have chosen Jerusalem, so that my name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.' 7 Now it was in the heart of David my father, to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 8 But Yahweh said to David my father, 'In that it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well for it to be in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, you are not to build the house; instead, your son, one who will come from your loins, will build the house for my name.' 10 Yahweh has carried out the word that he had said, for I have arisen in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 11 I have placed the ark there, in which is Yahweh's covenant, which he made with the people of Israel."
12 Solomon stood before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands. 13 For he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. He had placed it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it and knelt down before all the assembly of Israel, and then he spread out his hands toward the heavens. 14 He said, "Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no God like you in the heavens or on the earth, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 15 you who have kept with your servant David my father, what you promised him. Yes, you spoke with your mouth and have fulfilled it with your hand, as it is today. 16 Now then, Yahweh, God of Israel, carry out what you have promised to your servant David my father, when you said, 'You will not fail to have a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful to walk in my law, as you have walked before me.' 17 Now then, Yahweh, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.
18 But will God actually live with mankind on the earth? Look, the entire universe and heaven itself cannot contain you—how much less can this temple that I have built! 19 Yet please respect this prayer of your servant and his plea, Yahweh my God; listen to the cry and prayer that your servant prays before you. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, the place where you promised to put your name. May you listen to the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 So listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, listen from the place where you live, from the heavens; and when you listen, forgive.
22 If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to swear an oath, and if he comes and swears an oath before your altar in this house, 23 listen from the heavens and act. Judge your servants, condemning the wicked and bringing what he has done upon his own head. Declare the innocent not guilty and give to him according to his righteousness.
24 When your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, if they turn back to you, confess your name, pray, and seek favor before you in this temple— 25 then please listen from the heavens and forgive the sin of your people Israel; bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their ancestors.
26 When the skies are shut up and there is no rain because the people have sinned against you—if they pray toward this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin when you have afflicted them— 27 then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel, when you direct them to the good way in which they should walk. Send rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.
28 Suppose there is famine in the land, or suppose that there is disease, blight or mildew, locusts or caterpillars; or suppose that its enemies attack the city gates in their land, or that there is any plague or sickness— 29 and suppose then that prayers and pleas are made by a person or by all your people Israel—each knowing the plague and sorrow in his own heart as he spreads out his hands toward this temple. 30 Then listen from heaven, the place where you live; forgive, and reward every person for all his ways; you know his heart, because you and you only know the hearts of human beings. 31 Do this so that they may fear you, so that they may walk in your ways all the days that they live on the land that you gave to our ancestors.
32 As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel, but who—because of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—comes and prays toward this house, 33 then please listen from heaven, the place where you live, and do all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all the people of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and that they might know that this house I have built is called by your name.
34 Suppose that your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way you may send them, and suppose that they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen, and toward the house that I have built for your name. 35 Then listen from the heavens to their prayer, their request, and help their cause.
36 Suppose they sin against you—since there is no one who does not sin—and suppose that you are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that the enemy carries them away and takes them as captives to their land, whether distant or near. 37 Then suppose they realize they are in the land where they have been exiled, and suppose that they repent and seek favor from you in the land of their captivity. Suppose that they say, 'We have acted perversely and sinned. We have behaved wickedly.' 38 Suppose that they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they took them as captives, and suppose that they pray toward their land, which you gave to their ancestors, and toward the city that you chose, and toward the house that I have built for your name. 39 Then listen from the heavens, the place where you live, to their prayer and to their pleas, and help their cause. Forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
40 Now, my God, I beg you, let your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
41 Now then arise, Yahweh God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength. Let your priests, Yahweh God, be clothed with salvation, and let your faithful ones rejoice in your goodness. 42 Yahweh God, do not turn the face of your anointed away from you. Keep in mind your acts of covenant loyalty for David, your servant."
1 Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of Yahweh filled the house. 2 The priests could not enter the house of Yahweh, because his glory filled his house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh over the house, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the stone pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to Yahweh. They said, "For he is good, for his covenant loyalty endures forever."
4 So the king and all the people offered sacrifices to Yahweh. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood, each standing where they serve; the Levites also with instruments of music of Yahweh, which David the king had made to give thanks to Yahweh in the song, "For his covenant faithfulness endures for ever." All the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. 7 Solomon set apart the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of Yahweh. There he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that he had made was not able to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.
8 So Solomon held the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo Hamath to the brook of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they kept the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people away to their tents with glad and joyful hearts because of the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David, Solomon, and Israel, his people.
11 Thus Solomon finished the house of Yahweh and the king's house. Everything that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of Yahweh and in his own house, he successfully carried out. 12 Yahweh appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 Suppose that I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send plague among my people, 14 then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers that are made in this place. 16 For I have now chosen and set apart this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there every day. 17 As for you, if you walk before me as David your father walked, obeying all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my decrees, 18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I said in a covenant with David your father, when I said, 'A descendant of yours will never fail to be ruler in Israel.'
19 But if you turn away, and abandon my statutes and my commandments that I have placed before you, and if you go worship other gods and bow down to them, 20 then I will uproot them from out of my ground that I have given them. This house that I have set apart for my name, I will cast away from before me, and I will make it a proverb and a joke among all the peoples. 21 Even though this temple is so lofty now, everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will hiss. They will ask, 'Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?' 22 Others will answer, 'Because they abandoned Yahweh, their God, who had brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they laid hold of other gods and bowed down to them and worshiped them. That is why Yahweh has brought all this disaster on them.'"
1 It came about at the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house, 2 that Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given to him, and he settled the people of Israel in them.
3 Solomon attacked Hamath Zobah and defeated it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath. 5 Also he built Beth Horon the Upper and Beth Horon the Lower, cities fortified with walls, gates, and bars. 6 Solomon built Baalath and all the storage cities that he possessed, and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever he wished to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the lands under his rule.
7 As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who did not belong to Israel, 8 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—Solomon made them into forced laborers, which they are to this day. 9 However, Solomon did not makes slaves of the people of Israel for his work. Instead, they were soldiers, commanders of his officers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen. 10 These were also the chief officers managing the supervisors who belonged to King Solomon, 250 of them, who ruled over the people who did the work.
11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, "My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because wherever the ark of Yahweh has come is holy."
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on his altar that he had built in front of the portico. 13 He offered sacrifices just as the daily schedule required; he offered them, following the directions found in the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbath days, the new moons, and on the set festivals three times every year: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.
14 In keeping with the decrees of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests to their work, and the Levites to their positions, in order to praise God and to serve before the priests, as the daily schedule required. He also appointed the gatekeepers by their divisions to every gate, for David, the man of God, had also commanded this. 15 These people did not deviate from the commands of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the storerooms.
16 All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid until it was finished. The house of Yahweh was completed.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and then to Elath on the coast, in the land of Edom. 18 Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers, men who knew the sea, and with the servants of Solomon they went to Ophir and they took from there 450 talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.
1 When the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She came with a very long caravan, with camels loaded with spices, much gold, and many precious gemstones. When she had come to Solomon, she told him all that was in her heart. 2 Solomon answered her all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon; there was no question that he did not answer. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon's wisdom and the palace that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the work of his servants and their clothing, also his cupbearers and their clothing, and the burnt offerings he made at [1] the house of Yahweh, there was no more breath in her. 5 She said to the king, "It is true, the report that I heard in my own land of your words and your wisdom. 6 I did not believe what I heard until I came here, and now my eyes have seen it. Not half was told me about the greatness of your wisdom and wealth! You have exceeded the report that I heard. 7 How blessed are your men, and how blessed are your servants who constantly stand before you, because they hear your wisdom. [2]8 Blessed be Yahweh your God, who has taken pleasure in you, who placed you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God. Because your God loved Israel, in order to establish them forever, he had made you king over them, for you to do justice and righteousness!"
9 She gave the king 120 talents of gold and a large amount of spices and precious stones. There had never been such spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 With the algum wood, the king made steps for the house of Yahweh and for his house, as well as harps and lutes for the musicians. No wood like this had been seen before in the land of Judah. 12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba everything she desired and whatever she asked for; he gave her more than what she had brought to the king. So she left and went back to her own land, she and her servants.
13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides the gold that the traders and merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia and the governors in the country also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of gold went into each one. 16 He also made three hundred shields of beaten gold. Three minas of gold went into each shield; the king put them into the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 Then the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps to the throne, and a footstool of gold was attached to the throne. On each side of the throne there were armrests with two lions standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the drinking cups in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were silver because silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days. 21 The king had at sea a fleet of ships of Tarshish, along with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish brought gold, silver, and ivory, as well as apes and baboons.
22 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom. 23 All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Those who visited brought tribute, vessels of silver and of gold, clothes, weapons, and spices, as well as horses and mules, year after year. 25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with himself in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 27 The king had silver in Jerusalem, as much as the stones on the ground. He made cedar wood to be as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that are in the lowlands. 28 They brought horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands.
29 As for the other matters concerning Solomon, first and last, are they not written in The History of Nathan the Prophet, in The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in The Visions of Iddo the Seer (which also had information about Jeroboam son of Nebat)? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31 He lay down with his ancestors and the people buried him in the city of David his father. Rehoboam, his son, became king in his place.
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel was coming to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard this (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all Israel came; they spoke to Rehoboam and said, 4 "Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore, make your father's hard work easier, and lighten the heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you." 5 Rehoboam said to them, "Come again to me after three days." So the people left.
6 King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he was alive; he said, "How would you advise me to bring an answer to these people?" 7 They spoke to him and said, "If you are good to this people and please them, and say good words to them, then they will always be your servants." 8 But Rehoboam ignored the advice of the old men that they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 He said to them, "What advice do you give me, so that we may answer the people who spoke to me and said, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?" 10 The young men who had grown up with Rehoboam spoke to him, saying, "This is how you should speak to the people who told you that your father Solomon made their yoke heavy, but that you must make it lighter. This is what you should say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. 11 So now, although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.'"
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king said, "Come back to me on the third day." 13 King Rehoboam spoke to them harshly, ignoring the advice of the old men. 14 He spoke to them following the advice of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions."
15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn in events brought about by God, that Yahweh might carry out his word that Ahijah the Shilonite had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered him and said, "What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Each of you should go back to his tent, Israel. Now see to your own house, David." So all Israel returned to their tents. 17 But as for the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was over the forced laborers, but the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam fled quickly in his chariot to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
1 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were soldiers, to fight against Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, 4 'Yahweh says this, "You must not attack or make war against your brothers. Everyone must return to his own house, for I have caused this to happen."'" So they obeyed the words of Yahweh and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities in Judah for defense. 6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These are fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He fortified the fortresses and put commanders in them, with stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
13 The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel went over to him from within their borders. 14 For the Levites left their pasturelands and property in order to come to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had driven them away, so that they could no longer act as the priests of Yahweh. 15 Jeroboam appointed for himself priests for the high places and the goat and calf idols he had made. 16 People from all the tribes of Israel came after them, those who set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel; they came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam son of Solomon strong during three years, and they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.
18 Rehoboam took a wife for himself: Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, David's son, and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, Jesse's son. 19 She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. 20 After Mahalath, Rehoboam took Maakah, Absalom's daughter; she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maakah, Absalom's daughter, more than all his other wives and his concubines (he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and became the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters). 22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah to be chief, a leader among his brothers; he had the thought of making him king. 23 Rehoboam ruled wisely; he scattered all his sons throughout all the land of Judah and Benjamin to every fortified city. He also gave them food in abundance and looked for many wives for them.
1 It came about, when Rehoboam's reign was established and he was strong, that he abandoned the law of Yahweh—and all Israel with him. 2 It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, because the people had been unfaithful to Yahweh. 3 He came with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. Soldiers without number came with him from Egypt: Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites. 4 He captured the fortified cities that belonged to Judah and came to Jerusalem. 5 Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, "This is what Yahweh says: You have abandoned me, so I have also given you over into Shishak's hand." 6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "Yahweh is righteous." 7 When Yahweh saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves. I will not ruin them; I will deliver them to some extent, and my anger will not pour out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak's hand. 8 Nevertheless, they will be his servants, so that they may understand what it is to serve me and to serve the rulers of the other countries."
9 So Shishak, king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures in the house of Yahweh, and the treasures in the king's house. He took everything away; he also took the shields of gold that Solomon had made. 10 King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and entrusted them into the hands of the commanders of the guard, who guarded the doors to the king's house. 11 It happened that whenever the king entered the house of Yahweh, the guards would carry them; then they would bring them back into the guards' room. 12 When Rehoboam humbled himself, Yahweh's anger turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; besides, there was still some good to be found in Judah.
13 So King Rehoboam made his kingship strong in Jerusalem, and thus he reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Yahweh had chosen from all the tribes of Israel so that he might put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite woman. 14 He did what was evil, because he did not fix his heart to seek Yahweh.
15 As for the other matters concerning Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the writings of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, which also have records of genealogies and the constant wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam? 16 Rehoboam lay down with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David; Abijah his son became king in his place.
1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Macaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah went into battle with an army of strong, courageous warriors, 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam placed battle lines against him with 800,000 chosen men, mighty warriors. 4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Do you not know that Yahweh the God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. 7 Worthless men, base fellows, gathered to him. They came against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and timid at heart, and they were too strong for him. 8 So now you plan to resist the kingdom of Yahweh that is held within the hand of the descendants of David, because you are a large army, and you have the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. 9 But did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the descendants of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own in the same way as the people of other lands do? Whoever comes to serve as a priest, sacrificing a young bull and seven rams, he becomes a priest of what are not gods. 10 But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have priests, descendants of Aaron, serving Yahweh, and the Levites, who are at their work. 11 Every morning and evening they burn for Yahweh burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also arrange the bread of the presence on the pure table; they also tend the lampstand of gold with its lamps, for them to burn every evening. We keep the commandments of Yahweh, our God, but you have abandoned him. 12 See, God is with us at our head, and his priests are here with the trumpets to sound an alarm against you. Sons of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."
13 But Jeroboam prepared an ambush behind them; his army was in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 When Judah looked back, behold, the fighting was both in front of them and behind them. They cried out to Yahweh, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout; as they shouted, it came about that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The people of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into the hand of Judah. 17 Abijah and his army killed them with great slaughter; 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell dead. 18 In this way, the people of Israel were subdued at that time; the people of Judah won because they relied on Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam; he took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages. 20 Jeroboam never recovered power again during the days of Abijah; Yahweh struck him, and he died. 21 But Abijah became powerful; he took fourteen wives for himself and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 The rest of Abijah's deeds, his behavior, and words are written in the history of the prophet Iddo.
1 Abijah lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Asa, his son, became king in his place. In his days the land was quiet ten years. 2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, 3 for he took away the foreign altars and the high places. He broke down the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and to carry out the law and the commandments. 5 Also he took away the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under him. 6 He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Yahweh had given him peace. 7 For Asa said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is still ours because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and succeeded. 8 Asa had an army that carried shields and spears; from Judah he had 300,000 men, and from Benjamin, 280,000 men who carried shields and drew bows. All of these were mighty warriors.
9 Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million soldiers and three hundred chariots; he came to Mareshah. 10 Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle lines in order in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 Asa cried to Yahweh, his God, and said, "Yahweh, there is no one but you to help one who has no strength when he is facing many. Help us, Yahweh our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast number. Yahweh, you are our God; do not let man defeat you." 12 So Yahweh struck the Cushites before Asa and Judah; the Cushites fled. 13 Asa and the soldiers with him pursued them to Gerar. So many Cushites fell that they could not recover, for they were completely destroyed before Yahweh and his army. The army carried away very much plunder. 14 The army destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for terror of Yahweh had come on the inhabitants. The army plundered all the villages, and there was much booty in them. 15 The army also destroyed the tents of those who owned livestock; they carried away sheep in abundance, as well as camels, and then they returned to Jerusalem.
1 The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Yahweh is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 3 Now for a long period, Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without the law. 4 But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5 In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, for there were great disturbances on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city, for God troubled them with all kinds of suffering. 7 But be strong, and do not let your hands be weak, for your work will be rewarded."
8 When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and drove away the disgusting figures from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured from the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt Yahweh's altar, which was in front of the portico of the house of Yahweh. 9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who stayed with them—people from Ephraim and Manasseh, and from Simeon. For they came from Israel to him in great numbers, when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. 10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. 11 They sacrificed to Yahweh in that day some of the plunder that they had brought: seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats. 12 They entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul. 13 They agreed that whoever refused to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether the person was small or great, whether man or woman. 14 They swore to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, and with trumpets and rams' horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and they sought God with their whole desire, and he was found by them. Yahweh gave them peace all around them.
16 King Asa also removed Maakah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made a disgusting figure out of an Asherah pole. He cut down the disgusting figure, crushed it to dust, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. 17 But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was completely devoted all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God his father's sacred gifts and his own sacred gifts, silver and gold and utensils. 19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.
1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, Baasha, king of Israel, acted aggressively against Judah and built up Ramah, so that he might not allow anyone to leave or enter into the land of Asa, king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought the silver and gold out of the storerooms in the house of Yahweh and of the king's house, and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. He said, 3 "Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I have sent to you silver and gold. Break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he may leave me alone." 4 Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim [1] , and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 It came about that when Baasha heard this, he stopped building up Ramah and let his work cease. 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah with him. They carried away the stones and timbers of Ramah with which Baasha had been building up the city. Then King Asa used that building material to build up Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the seer went to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, "Because you have relied on the king of Aram, and have not relied on Yahweh your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and the Libyans a huge army, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on Yahweh, he gave you victory over them. 9 For the eyes of Yahweh run everywhere throughout the whole earth, so that he might show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect toward him. But you have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, you will have war." 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer; he put him into prison, for he was enraged with him over this matter. At the same time, Asa oppressed some of the people.
11 Behold, the deeds of Asa, from first to last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was very severe, he did not seek help from Yahweh, but only from the healers. 13 So Asa lay down with his ancestors, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb, which he had dug out for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that was filled with sweet odors and various kinds of spices prepared by skilled perfumers. Then they made a very great fire in his honor.
1 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king in his place. Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel. 2 He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had captured. 3 Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David, and did not seek the Baals. [1]4 Instead, he relied on the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, not according to the practices of Israel. 5 So Yahweh established the rule in his hand; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat. He had riches and honor in abundance. 6 His heart was committed to Yahweh's ways. He also removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. 8 With them were Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah; and with them were the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of Yahweh with them. They went about throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
10 Terror of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver as tribute. Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams, and 7,700 goats. 12 Jehoshaphat became very powerful. He built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. 13 He had many supplies in the cities of Judah, and soldiers—mighty warriors—in Jerusalem. 14 These were their divisions listed by the name of their fathers' houses: From Judah, the commanders of thousands; Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty warriors;
15 next to him Jehohanan the commander, and with him 280,000 men;
16 next to him Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve Yahweh; and with him 200,000 mighty warriors.
17 From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty warrior, and with him 200,000 armed with bows and shields;
18 next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 ready prepared for war.
19 These were those who served the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
1 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; he allied himself with Ahab by having one of his family marry his daughter. 2 After some years, he went down to Ahab in Samaria. Ahab killed many sheep and cattle for him and the people who were with him. Ahab also persuaded him to attack Ramoth Gilead with him. 3 Ahab, king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat answered him, "I am like you, and my people are like your people. We will be with you in the war."
4 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please first seek the word of Yahweh for your answer." 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Should we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or should I not?" They said, "Attack, for God will give it into the hand of the king." 6 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here still another prophet of Yahweh with whom we might seek advice?" 7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may seek the advice of Yahweh, Micaiah son of Imlah, but I hate him because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil." But Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say that." 8 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, "Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah." 9 Now Ahab the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on a throne, clothed in their robes, on a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made himself horns of iron and said, "Yahweh says this: With these you will push the Arameans until they are consumed." 11 All the prophets prophesied the same, saying, "Attack Ramoth Gilead and win, for Yahweh has given it into the hand of the king."
12 The messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets with one mouth are favorable to the king. Let your words agree with theirs, and speak favorably." 13 Micaiah replied, "As Yahweh lives, it is what God says that I will say." 14 When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or not?" Micaiah answered him, "Attack and be victorious! For it will be a great victory." 15 Then the king said to him, "How many times must I require you to swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?" 16 So Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep who have no shepherd, and Yahweh said, 'These have no shepherd. Let every man return to his house in peace.'" 17 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?" 18 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore all of you should hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven were standing on his right hand and on his left. 19 Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab, king of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?' One said this and another that. 20 Then a spirit came forward and it stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Yahweh said to him, 'How?' 21 The spirit replied, 'I will go out and I will become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Yahweh replied, 'You will entice him, and you will also be successful. Go now and do so.' 22 Now see, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has decreed disaster for you."
23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, came up, slapped Micaiah on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh take to go from me to speak to you?" 24 Micaiah said, "Look, you will know that on that day, when you run into some inner room to hide." 25 The king of Israel said to some servants, "You people seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, my son. 26 You people will say to him, 'The king says: Put this man in prison and feed him with only a little bread and only a little water, until I return safely.'" 27 Then Micaiah said, "If you return safely, then Yahweh has not spoken by me." Then he added, "Listen to this, all you people."
28 So Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up against Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel." 31 It came about that when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat they said, "That is the king of Israel." They turned around to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him. God turned them away from him. 32 It came about that when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 But a certain man drew his bow at random and shot the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Then Ahab said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded." 34 The battle grew worse that day, and the king of Israel was held up in his chariot facing the Arameans until the evening. About the time that the sun was going down, he died.
1 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah safely returned to his house in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you be helping the wicked? Should you be loving those who hate Yahweh? For this deed, anger from Yahweh is on you. 3 However, there is some good to be found in you, in that you have taken the Asherah poles out of the land, and you have fixed your heart to seek God."
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 5 He placed judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. 6 He said to the judges, "Consider what you should do, because you are not judging for man, but for Yahweh; he is with you in the act of judging. 7 Now then, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you. Be careful when you judge, for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor is there any favoritism or bribe taking."
8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and the priests, and some of the heads of the families of Israel, for carrying out judgment for Yahweh, and for the sake of disputes. They lived in Jerusalem. 9 He instructed them, saying, "You must serve in reverence for Yahweh, faithfully, and with your whole heart. 10 Whenever any dispute comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, whether concerning bloodshed, whether about laws and commands, statutes or decrees, you must warn them, so they do not become guilty before Yahweh, or anger will come toward you and toward your brothers. If you do this, you will not be guilty. 11 See, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all the matters of Yahweh. Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the house of Judah, is in charge of all the matters of the king. Also, the Levites will be officers serving you. Be strong and obey your instructions, and may Yahweh be with those who are good."
1 It came about after this, that the people of Moab and Ammon, and with them some Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to do battle. [1]2 Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A large multitude is coming against you from beyond the Dead Sea, from Edom. See, they are in Hazezon Tamar," that is, En Gedi. [2]3 Jehoshaphat became afraid and set himself to seek Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 Judah gathered together to seek Yahweh; they came to seek Yahweh from all the cities of Judah.
5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, at the house of Yahweh, in front of the new courtyard. 6 He said, "Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Are you not the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so no one is able to resist you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham? 8 They lived in it and built you a holy place in it for your name, saying, 9 'If disaster comes on us—the sword, judgment, or plague, or famine—we will stand before this house, and before you (for your name is in this house), and we will cry to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.' [3]10 See now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; so, Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are rewarding us; they are coming to drive us out of your land that you have given us to inherit. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power against this great army that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."
13 All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, wives, and children.
14 Then in the middle of the assembly the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph. 15 Jahaziel said, "Listen, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what Yahweh says to you, 'Do not fear; do not be discouraged because of this great army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God. 16 You must go down against them tomorrow. See, they are coming up by way of the pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand in your positions, stand still, and see the rescue of Yahweh with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear nor be discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for Yahweh is with you.'" 18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping him. 19 The Levites, those of the descendants of the Kohathites and Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 Early in the morning they arose and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Trust in Yahweh your God, and you will be supported. Trust in his prophets, and you will succeed." 21 After he consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to Yahweh and who praised him for his majestic splendor as they went out before the army, saying, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever."
22 When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set men in ambush against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were coming against Judah. They were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab rose to fight the inhabitants of Mount Seir, in order to completely kill them and destroy them. When they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they all helped to destroy each other.
24 When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked out on the army. Behold, they were dead, fallen to the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take plunder from them, they found among them abundant goods, clothing, and valuable articles, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away. It took them three days to carry off the plunder, there was so much of it. [4]26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised Yahweh, so the name of that place is the "Valley of Berakah" to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in their lead, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem and to the house of Yahweh with lutes and harps and trumpets. 29 The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the nations when they heard that Yahweh had fought against Israel's enemies. 30 So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him peace all around him.
31 Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the ways of Asa, his father; he did not turn away from them; he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. 33 However, the high places were not taken away. The people still had not directed their hearts to the God of their ancestors. 34 As for the other matters concerning Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu son of Hanani, which is recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 After this Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who committed much wickedness. 36 He allied himself with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. They built the ships at Ezion Geber. 37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat; he said, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your works." The ships were wrecked so that they could not go to Tarshish.
1 Jehoshaphat lay down with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David; Jehoram, his son, became king in his place. 2 Jehoram had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. 3 Their father had given them large gifts of silver, gold, and other precious things, and also fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram. 4 Now when Jehoram had risen up over his father's kingdom and had firmly established himself as king, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also various other leaders of Israel. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab was doing, for he had Ahab's daughter as his wife, and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 7 However, Yahweh did not wish to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David; he had promised that he would always give a lamp to him and his descendants.
8 In Jehoram's days, Edom rebelled against the control of Judah, and they set a king to reign over themselves. 9 Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. It was night when he rose up and fought against the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. 10 So Edom has been in rebellion from the control of Judah to this present day. Libnah also revolted at the same time from his control, because Jehoram had abandoned Yahweh, the God of his ancestors.
11 In addition, Jehoram had also built high places in the mountains of Judah and he made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to live like prostitutes, and he led Judah astray. 12 A letter from the prophet Elijah came to Jehoram. It said, "This is what Yahweh, the God of David, your ancestor, says: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat, your father, nor in the ways of Asa, king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to act like a prostitute, as the house of Ahab did—and because you have also killed your brothers in your father's house, men who were better than yourself— 14 see, Yahweh will strike your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions with a heavy blow. 15 You yourself will have much sickness with a disease in your intestines, until the disease causes your intestines to come out, and this will continue day after day."
16 Yahweh stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians who were near the Cushites. 17 They attacked Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the wealth that was found in the king's house. They also carried away his sons and his wives. No son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.
18 After all this, Yahweh struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 It came about in due time, at the end of two years, that his intestines fell out because of his sickness, and that he died of severe disease. His people made no fire in his honor as they had done for his ancestors. 20 He had begun to reign when he was thirty-two years old; he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years, and when he departed no one mourned him. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the royal tombs.
1 The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, king in his place, for the marauding band that came with the Arabians into the camp had killed all his older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, became king. 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was the daughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab for his mother was his advisor in doing wicked things. 4 Ahaziah did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab was doing, for they were his advisors after the death of his father, to his destruction. 5 He also followed their advice; he went with Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram. 6 Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael, king of Aram. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
7 Now the destruction of Ahaziah was brought about by God through Ahaziah's visit to Joram. When he had arrived, he went with Jehoram to attack Jehu son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. 8 It came about, when Jehu was carrying out God's judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the leaders of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers serving Ahaziah. Jehu killed them. 9 Jehu looked for Ahaziah; they caught him hiding in Samaria, brought him to Jehu, and killed him. Then they buried him, for they said, "He is a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with all his heart." So the house of Ahaziah had no more power to rule the kingdom.
10 Now when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and killed all the royal children in the house of Judah. 11 But Jehosheba, [1] a daughter of the king, secretly took Joash son of Ahaziah away from the king's sons who were about to be killed. She put him and his nurse into a bedroom. So Jehosheba, a daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that Athaliah did not kill him. 12 He was with them, hidden in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
1 In the seventh year, Jehoiada showed his strength and entered into a covenant with the commanders of hundreds, Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They went about in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. Jehoiada said to them, "See, the king's son will reign, as Yahweh has said concerning the descendants of David. 4 This is what you must do: A third of you priests and Levites who come to serve on the Sabbath will be guards at the doors. 5 Another third will be at the king's house, and the other third will be at the Foundation Gate. All the people will be in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. 6 Allow no one to come into the house of Yahweh, except for the priests and the Levites who are serving. They may enter because they are consecrated. But all the other people must obey the commands of Yahweh. 7 The Levites must surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be killed. Stay with the king when he comes in and when he goes out."
8 So the Levites and all Judah served in every way in the manner in which Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each one took his men, those who were to come in to serve on the Sabbath, and those who were to leave off serving on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of their divisions. 9 Then Jehoiada the priest brought to the commanders spears and small and large shields that had been King David's that were in the house of God. 10 Jehoiada placed all the soldiers, each man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. 11 Then they brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant decrees. Then they made him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. Then they said, "Long live the king."
12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the house of Yahweh, 13 and she looked, and, behold, the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance, and the commanders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers were playing musical instruments and leading the singing of praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and shouted, "Treason! Treason!" 14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of hundreds who were over the army and said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks; anyone who follows her, let him be killed with the sword." For the priest had said, "Do not kill her in the house of Yahweh." 15 So they seized her as she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king's house, and there they killed her.
16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, all the people, and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people. 17 So all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down. They smashed Baal's altars and his images to pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of those altars. 18 Jehoiada appointed officers for the house of Yahweh under the hand of the priests, who were Levites, whom David had assigned to the house of Yahweh, to offer the burnt offerings to Yahweh, as it was written in the law of Moses, together with rejoicing and singing, as David had given direction. 19 Jehoiada set guards at the gates of the house of Yahweh, so that no one that was unclean in any way should enter. 20 Jehoiada took with him the commanders of hundreds, the noblemen, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land. He brought down the king from the house of Yahweh; the people came through the Upper Gate to the king's house and sat the king on the throne of the kingdom. [1]21 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. As for Athaliah, they had killed her with the sword.
1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada, the priest. 3 Jehoiada took for him two wives, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
4 It came about after this, that Joash decided to restore the house of Yahweh. 5 He gathered together the priests and the Levites, and he said to them, "Go out every year to the cities of Judah and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God. Make sure that you start right away." The Levites did nothing at first. 6 So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses the servant of Yahweh and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant decrees?" 7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God and had given all the holy things of the house of Yahweh to the Baals.
8 So the king commanded, and they made a chest and placed it outside at the entrance to the house of Yahweh. 9 Then they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, for the people to bring in for Yahweh the tax that Moses the servant of God levied on Israel in the wilderness. 10 All the leaders and all the people rejoiced and brought money in and put it into the chest until they finished filling it. 11 It happened that whenever the chest was brought to the king's officials by the hand of the Levites, and whenever they saw that there was much money in it, the king's scribe and the high priest's official would come, empty the chest, and take it and carry it back to its place. They did this day after day, gathering large amounts of money. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave the money to those who did the work of serving in the house of Yahweh. These men hired stonemasons and carpenters to restore the house of Yahweh, and also those who worked in iron and bronze. 13 So the workmen labored, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands; they set up the house of God in its original design and strengthened it. 14 When they finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada. This money was used to make furnishings for the house of Yahweh, utensils with which to serve and make offerings—spoons and utensils of gold and silver. They offered burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh continually for all the days of Jehoiada.
15 Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and then he died; he was 130 years old when he died. 16 They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, toward God, and to the house of God. 17 Now after the death of Jehoiada, the leaders of Judah came and did honor to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 They abandoned the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah gods and the idols. God's anger came on Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again to himself, Yahweh; the prophets testified against the people, but they refused to listen.
20 The Spirit of God clothed Zechariah son of Jehoiada, the priest; Zechariah stood above the people and said to them, "God says this: Why do you transgress the commandments of Yahweh, so that you cannot prosper? Since you have abandoned Yahweh, he has also abandoned you." 21 But they plotted against him; at the king's command, they stoned him with stones in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. 22 Joash the king, did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had done to him, and so he killed Jehoiada's son. As Zechariah was dying, he said, "May Yahweh see this and call you to account."
23 It came about at the end of the year, that the army of Aram came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem; they destroyed all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder from them to the king of Damascus. 24 Although the army of the Arameans had come with only a few soldiers, Yahweh gave them victory over a very great army, because Judah had abandoned Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. In this way the Arameans brought judgment on Joash.
25 By the time that the Arameans had gone, Joash had been severely wounded. His own servants plotted against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada, the priest. They killed him in his bed, and he died; they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 26 These were the persons who plotted against him: Zabad son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman; and Jehozabad son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman. 27 Now the accounts about his sons, the important prophecies that were spoken about him, and the rebuilding of the house of God, see, they are written in the commentary on the book of the kings. Amaziah his son became king in his place.
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, but not with a whole heart. 3 It came about that as soon as his rule was well established, he killed the servants who had murdered his father, the king. 4 But he did not put their children to death, according to what was written in the law, in the book of Moses, as Yahweh had commanded, "The fathers must not be put to death for their children, and children must not be put to death for their fathers. But, each one must die for his own sin."
5 Moreover, Amaziah gathered Judah together, and registered them by their ancestors' houses, under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—all of Judah and Benjamin. He numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them to be 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. 6 He hired also 100,000 mighty warriors from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him and said, "King, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Yahweh is not with Israel—none of the people of Ephraim. 8 But even if you do go and are courageous and strong in battle, God will throw you down before the enemy, for God has power to help, and power to throw down." 9 Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what will we do about the one hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?" The man of God answered, "Yahweh is able to give you much more than that." 10 So Amaziah separated the army that had come to him from Ephraim; he sent them home again. So their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger. 11 Amaziah took courage and led his people to go out to the Valley of Salt; there he defeated ten thousand men of Seir. 12 The army of Judah carried away alive another ten thousand. They took them to the top of the cliff and threw them down from there, so that they were all broken in pieces. 13 But the men of the army which Amaziah sent back, so that they should not go with him to battle, attacked the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon. They struck down three thousand of the people and took much plunder.
14 Now it came about, after that Amaziah had returned from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, and set them up to be his own gods. He bowed down before them and burned incense to them. 15 So Yahweh's anger was kindled against Amaziah. He sent a prophet to him, who said, "Why have you sought after the gods of a people who did not even save their own people from your hand?" 16 It came about that as the prophet was speaking with him, the king said to him, "Have we made you an advisor to the king? Stop! Why should you be killed?" Then the prophet stopped and said, "I know that God has decided to destroy you because you have done this deed and have not listened to my advice."
17 Then Amaziah king of Judah consulted with advisors and sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us meet each other face to face in battle." 18 But Jehoash the king of Israel sent messengers back to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "A thistle that was in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for a wife,' but a wild beast in Lebanon walked by and trampled down the thistle. 19 You have said, 'See, I have struck down Edom,' and your heart has lifted you up. Take pride in your victory, but stay at home, for why should you cause yourself trouble and fall, both you and Judah with you?"
20 But Amaziah would not listen, because this event was from God, so he might put the people of Judah into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought advice from the gods of Edom. 21 So Jehoash, king of Israel, attacked; he and Amaziah, king of Judah, met each other face to face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 Judah was struck down before Israel, and every man fled to his tent. 23 Jehoash, king of Israel, captured Amaziah son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, at Beth Shemesh. He brought him to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits in distance. 24 He took all the gold and silver, all the objects that were found in the house of God with Obed-Edom, and the valuable things in the king's house, with hostages also, and returned to Samaria.
25 Amaziah son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 26 As for the other matters concerning Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following Yahweh, they began to make a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. He fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28 They brought him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.
1 All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 2 It was he who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah. After that the king lay down with his ancestors. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign. He reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who taught him to honor God. [1] or As long as he sought Yahweh, God made him prosper.
6 Uzziah went out and fought against the Philistines. He broke down the city walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod; he built cities in the country of Ashdod and among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread, even to the entrance of Egypt, because he was becoming more powerful. 9 In addition, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. 10 He built watchtowers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had many herds in the lowlands and in the plains. He had farmers and vine growers in the hill country and in the fruitful fields, for he loved the soil. 11 In addition, Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war in groups which were organized by their number that were counted by Jeiel, the scribe, and Maaseiah, the officer, under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders. 12 The whole number of the leaders of the families who led the mighty warriors was 2,600. 13 Under their hand was an army of 307,500 men that made war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy. 14 Uzziah prepared for them—for all the army—shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and stones for slinging. 15 In Jerusalem he built machines that were designed by skillful men to be on the towers and on the battlements to shoot arrows and large stones. His fame spread to distant lands, for he was greatly helped and so he became very powerful.
16 But when Uzziah had become powerful, his heart was lifted up so that he acted corruptly; he acted faithlessly against Yahweh, his God, for he went into the temple of Yahweh to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah, the priest, went in after him, and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were brave men. 18 They confronted Uzziah the king, and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the holy place, for you have been unfaithful and you will not be honored by Yahweh God." 19 Then Uzziah became angry. He was holding a censer in his hand to burn incense. While he was enraged against the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of Yahweh, beside the altar of incense. 20 Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and, behold, he had become leprous on his forehead. They quickly drove him out of there. Indeed, he hurried to go out, because Yahweh had struck him. 21 Uzziah, the king, was a leper to the day of his death and lived in a separate house since he was a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. Jotham, his son, was over the king's house and ruled the people of the land. 22 The other matters concerning Uzziah, from first to last, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 23 So Uzziah lay down with his ancestors; they buried him with his ancestors in a burial ground that belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." Jotham, his son, became king in his place.
1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah; she was the daughter of Zadok. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as his father Uzziah had done. He also refrained from going into the temple of Yahweh. But the people were still behaving corruptly. 3 He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and on the hill of Ophel he built much. 4 Moreover he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. 5 He fought also with the king of the people of Ammon and defeated them. In that same year, the people of Ammon gave him one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand measures of barley. The people of Ammon gave him the same in the second and third years. 6 So Jotham became powerful because he walked firmly before Yahweh his God. 7 As for the other matters concerning Jotham, all his wars, and his ways, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 Jotham lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Ahaz, his son, became king in his place.
1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as David his ancestor had done. 2 Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made cast metal figures for the Baals. 3 In addition, he burned incense in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and he caused his children to pass through the fire, according to the idolatrous practices of the people that Yahweh forced out of their land before the people of Israel. 4 He sacrificed and burned incense at the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Therefore Yahweh the God of Ahaz gave him into the hand of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and carried away from him a great crowd of captives, bringing them to Damascus. Ahaz was also given into the hand of the king of Israel who defeated him in a great slaughter. 6 For Pekah son of Remaliah in one day killed 120,000 soldiers in Judah and all of them were powerful men, because they had abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors. 7 Zikri, a powerful man from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, Azrikam, the official over the palace, and Elkanah, who was next to the king. 8 The army of Israel took captive from their relatives 200,000 wives, sons, and daughters. They also took much plunder, which they carried back to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of Yahweh was there, his name was Oded. He went out to meet the army coming into Samaria. He said to them, "Because Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reached up to heaven. 10 And now you, people of Judah and Jerusalem, intend to make them your male slaves and female slaves. But are you not guilty of sins of your own against Yahweh your God? 11 Now then, listen to me: Send the captives back, those whom you have captured of your own brothers, for Yahweh's burning anger is on you." 12 Then certain leaders of the people of Ephraim—Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came back from the war. 13 They said to them, "You must not bring the captives here, for you intend something that will bring on us sin against Yahweh, to add to our sins and trespasses, for our trespass is great, and there is burning anger against Israel." 14 So the armed men left the captives and the plunder before the leaders and all the assembly. 15 The men who were assigned by name got up and took the captives, and clothed all who were naked among them with the plunder. They clothed them and gave them sandals. They gave them food to eat and drink. They anointed them and put the weak ones on donkeys. They took them back to their families in Jericho, (called the City of Palms). Then they returned to Samaria.
16 At that time King Ahaz sent messengers to the kings of Assyria to ask them to help him. 17 For once again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah, carrying captives away. 18 The Philistines also invaded the cities of the lowlands and of the Negev of Judah. They took Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soko with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and also Gimzo with its villages. They went to live in those places. 19 For Yahweh humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel; for he had acted wickedly in Judah and had been very faithless against Yahweh. 20 Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came to him and troubled him instead of strengthening him. 21 For Ahaz plundered the house of Yahweh and the houses of the king and the leaders, to give the valuable things to the kings of Assyria. But doing this did not benefit him.
22 This same King Ahaz became even more faithless against Yahweh in his time of suffering. 23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, gods that had defeated him. He said, "Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them, so that they might help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 Ahaz gathered together the furnishings of the house of God and cut them to pieces. He shut the doors of the house of Yahweh and he made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In every city of Judah he made high places to burn sacrifices to other gods. He provoked Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, to anger. 26 Now the rest of his deeds, and all his ways, first and last, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Hezekiah, his son, became king in his place.
1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah; she was the daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, just as David his father had done. 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, Hezekiah opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the courtyard on the east side. 5 He said to them, "Listen to me, you Levites! Consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, and carry away the filthiness from the holy place. 6 For our ancestors were faithless and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh our God; they abandoned him, turned away their faces from the place where Yahweh lives, and turned their backs on it. 7 Also they shut up the doors of the porch and put out the lamps; they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of Yahweh had fallen on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them to be an object of terror, of horror, and of scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be lazy now, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to worship him, and that you should be his servants and burn incense."
12 Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the people of the Kohathites; and of the people of Merari, Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah;
13 of the descendants of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 of the descendants of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers, they consecrated themselves, and they went in, as the king commanded, following the words of Yahweh, to cleanse the house of Yahweh. 16 The priests went in to the inner part of the house of Yahweh to cleanse it; they brought out everything unclean that they found in the temple of Yahweh into the courtyard of the house. The Levites took it to carry it out to the Kidron Brook. 17 Now they began the consecration on the first day of the first month. By the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of Yahweh. Then for eight more days they consecrated the house of Yahweh. On the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went to Hezekiah, the king, inside the palace and said, "We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh, the altar for burnt offerings with all its implements, and the table of the bread of the presence, with all its implements. 19 So we have prepared and we have consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed when he acted unfaithfully during his reign. See, they are in front of the altar of Yahweh."
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early in the morning and gathered the leaders of the city; he went up to the house of Yahweh. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. He commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Yahweh. 22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Then they killed the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; and they also killed the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar. 23 They brought the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; they laid their hands on them. 24 The priests killed them, and they made a sin offering with their blood on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king had commanded that a burnt offering and a sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 Hezekiah placed the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, lutes and harps, arranging them by the command of David, Gad, the king's seer, and Nathan, the prophet, for the command was from Yahweh by means of his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began also, with the trumpets, together with the instruments of David, king of Israel. 28 All the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters played; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 When they had finished the offerings, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. 30 Moreover, Hezekiah, the king, and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David and of Asaph, the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to Yahweh. Come here and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of Yahweh." The assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who had a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred male lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to Yahweh. 33 The consecrated offerings were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few to skin all the burnt offerings, so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was done, and until the priests could consecrate themselves, for the Levites had been more careful to consecrate themselves than the priests. 35 In addition, there were very many burnt offerings; they were performed with the fat of the fellowship offerings, and there were drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of Yahweh was set in order. 36 Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people also, because of what God had prepared for the people, for the work had been done quickly.
1 Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel. 2 For the king, his leaders, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had consulted together, deciding to celebrate the Passover in the second month. 3 They could not celebrate at the regular time, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves for the celebration and the people had not gathered together in Jerusalem. 4 This proposal seemed right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly. 5 So they agreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to celebrate the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it with large numbers of people according to what was written. 6 So couriers went with the letters from the king and his leaders throughout all Israel and Judah, by the command of the king. They said, "You people of Israel, turn back to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn back to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your ancestors or your brothers, who were faithless against Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Now do not stiffen your necks, as your ancestors did; instead, give yourselves to Yahweh and come into his holy place, which he has consecrated forever, and worship Yahweh your God, so that his burning anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you turn back to Yahweh, your brothers and children will find compassion before those who led them away as prisoners, and they will come back into this land. For Yahweh your God, is gracious and merciful, and will not turn his face away from you, if you return to him."
10 So the couriers passed from city to city throughout the regions of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the way to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and mocked them. 11 However, certain men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God also came on Judah, to give them one heart, to carry out the command of the king and leaders by the word of Yahweh.
13 Many people, a very great assembly, gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They rose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense; they threw them into the Kidron Brook. 15 Then they killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of Yahweh. 16 They stood in their place by their divisions, following the directions given in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites slaughtered the Passover lambs for everyone who was not purified and could not consecrate their sacrifice to Yahweh. 18 For a great many of the people, many of them from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover meal, against the written instructions. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, "May the good Yahweh pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, even though he is not purified by the purification standards of the holy place." 20 So Yahweh listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 The people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and the priests praised Yahweh day after day, singing with loud instruments to Yahweh. 22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who understood the service of Yahweh. So they ate throughout the festival for the seven days, offering sacrifices of fellowship offerings, and making confession to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.
23 The whole assembly then decided to celebrate for another seven days, and they did so with joy. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep as an offering; and the leaders gave to the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A large number of priests consecrated themselves. 25 All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the people who came together from Israel, as well as the foreigners who came from the land of Israel and those who lived in Judah—they all rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there had not been anything like it in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests, the Levites, rose and blessed the people. Their voice was heard, and their prayer went up to heaven, the holy place where God lives.
1 Now when all this was finished, all the people of Israel who were there went out to the cities of Judah and broke to pieces the stone pillars and they cut down the Asherah poles, and they broke down the high places and the altars in all of Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned, every one to his own possession and his own city.
2 Hezekiah assigned the divisions of the priests and the Levites organized by their divisions, each man assigned to his work, both the priests and the Levites. He assigned them to make the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise at the gates of the house of Yahweh. 3 He also assigned the king's portion for the burnt offerings from his own possessions, that is, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbath days, the new moons, and the fixed festivals, as it was written in the law of Yahweh. 4 Moreover, he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion for the priests and the Levites, so that they might concentrate on obeying the law of Yahweh. 5 As soon as the command was sent out, the people of Israel generously gave the firstfruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and from all their harvest of the field. They brought in a tithe of everything, which was a great quantity. 6 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and the tithe of the holy things that were set apart to Yahweh their God, and they piled them up in heaps. 7 It was in the third month when they began piling up their contribution in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. 10 Azariah, the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of Yahweh, we have eaten and had enough, and have plenty left over, for Yahweh has blessed his people. What was left over is this large amount here."
11 Then Hezekiah commanded storerooms to be prepared in the house of Yahweh, and they prepared them. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes and the things that belonged to Yahweh. Konaniah the Levite was the manager in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second to him. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were managers under the hand of Konaniah and Shimei his brother, by appointment of Hezekiah, the king, and Azariah, the official over the house of God. 14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the porter at the east gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, in charge of distributing the offerings to Yahweh and the most holy offerings. 15 Under him were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shekaniah, in the cities of the priests. They filled offices of trust, in order to give these offerings to their brothers division by division, to both the important and the unimportant. 16 They also gave to those males three years old and up, who were recorded in the genealogies of their ancestors who entered the house of Yahweh, as required by the daily schedule, to do the work in their offices and their divisions. [1]17 They distributed to the priests who were recorded in the genealogies of their ancestors, and the same to the Levites twenty years old and more, according to their offices and their divisions. 18 They recorded in the genealogy all their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, through the whole community, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. 19 For the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who were in the fields of the villages belonging to their cities, or in every city, there were men assigned by name to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of their ancestors as being among the Levites.
20 Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He accomplished what was good, right, and faithful before Yahweh, his God. 21 In every work that he began in the service of the house of God, the law, and the commandments, to seek his God, he performed it with all his heart, and he succeeded.
1 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered Judah. He camped to attack the fortified cities, which he intended to capture for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to fight against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his leaders and his powerful men to stop up the waters of the springs that were outside the city; they helped him do so. 4 So many people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that was flowing through the middle of the land. They said, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find a lot of water?" 5 Hezekiah took courage and built up all the wall that was broken down. He built the towers higher, and also the other wall outside. He also strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and he made large amounts of weapons and shields. [1]6 He placed military commanders over the people. He gathered them together to him in the broad place at the city gate and spoke to their hearts. He said, 7 "Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria and all the army that is with him, for someone is with us who is greater than those with him. 8 With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is Yahweh, our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." Then the people comforted themselves with the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
9 After this, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem (now he was in front of Lachish, and all his army was with him), to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and to all of Judah who were in Jerusalem. He said, 10 "This is what Sennacherib, king of Assyria, says: What are you trusting in so you can endure a siege in Jerusalem? 11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, 'Yahweh our God will rescue us from the hand of the king of Assyria'? 12 Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, 'On one altar you must worship, and on it you must burn your sacrifices'? 13 Do you not know what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of the peoples of the surrounding lands able in any way to rescue their land from my power? 14 Among all the gods of those nations that my ancestors completely destroyed, was there any god who could rescue his people out of my hand? Why should your God be able to rescue you from my power? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you in this way. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people out of my hand, or out of the hand of my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my hand?"
16 Sennacherib's servants spoke even more against Yahweh God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 Sennacherib also wrote letters in order to mock Yahweh, the God of Israel, and to speak against him. He said, "As the gods of the nations of the lands have not rescued their people out of my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not rescue his people out of my hand." 18 They cried out in the language of the Jews to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, in order that they might capture the city. 19 They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken of the gods of the other peoples of the earth, which are merely the work of men's hands.
20 Hezekiah, the king, and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, prayed because of this matter and he cried out to heaven. 21 Yahweh sent an angel, who killed the mighty warriors, the commanders, and the officers of the king of Assyria in the camp. So Sennacherib returned to his own land with shame on his face. When he had gone into the house of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword. 22 In this way, Yahweh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and gave them rest on every side. [2]23 Many were bringing offerings to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and precious gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was lifted up in the eyes of all nations from that time forward.
24 In those days Hezekiah was sick to the point of dying. He prayed to Yahweh, who spoke to him and gave him a sign that he would be healed. 25 But Hezekiah did not pay back Yahweh for the help given to him, for his heart was lifted up. So anger came on him, and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Nevertheless, Hezekiah later humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that Yahweh's anger did not come on them during Hezekiah's days.
27 Hezekiah had very many riches and much honor. He provided himself with storerooms for silver, gold, precious stones, and for spices, as well as for shields and for all kinds of valuable objects. 28 He also had storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil, and stalls for various kinds of livestock. He also had flocks in their pens. 29 In addition, he provided himself with cities and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very much wealth. [3]30 It was this same Hezekiah who also stopped up the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and who brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in all his works. 31 However, in the matter of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent to him to ask questions of those who knew, about the miraculous sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him, and to know all that was in his heart.
32 As for the other matters concerning Hezekiah, including his actions of covenant loyalty, you can see that they are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him on the hill of the tombs of the descendants of David. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Manasseh his son became king in his place.
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the disgusting things of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he built altars for the Baals, he made Asherah poles, and he bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshiped them. 4 Manasseh built altars in the house of Yahweh, although Yahweh had commanded, "It is in Jerusalem that my name will be forever." 5 He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh. 6 In the Valley of Ben Hinnom he caused his sons to pass through the fire. He practiced sorcery, divination and he read omens, and he consulted with sorcerers and spiritists. Manasseh did much evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he provoked him to anger. 7 The carved figure he had made, he placed it in the house of God. It was about this house that God had spoken to David and Solomon his son; he had said, "It is in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, that I will put my name forever. 8 I will not move the people of Israel any more out of the land that I assigned to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to keep all that I have commanded them, following all the law, statutes, and decrees which I gave them through Moses." 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil even more than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed before the people of Israel.
10 Yahweh spoke to Manasseh, and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So Yahweh brought on them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and took him off to Babylon. 12 When Manasseh was in distress, he implored Yahweh, his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 He prayed to him; and God was moved by his plea, and God heard his humble request and brought him back to Jerusalem, into his kingship. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.
14 After this, Manasseh built an outer wall to the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, to the entrance at the Fish Gate. He surrounded the hill of Ophel with it and raised the wall up to a very great height. He put courageous commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He took away the foreign gods, the idol out of the house of Yahweh, and all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and threw them out of the city. 16 He rebuilt the altar of Yahweh and offered on it sacrifices of fellowship offerings and thank offerings; he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. 17 However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to Yahweh, their God.
18 As to the other matters concerning Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are written among the deeds of the kings of Israel. 19 In that account there is history of his prayer, and how God was moved by his plea. There is also an account of all his sin and his trespasses, and the places where he had built high places and set up the Asherah poles and the carved figures, before he humbled himself—they are written about in the Chronicles of the Seers. [1]20 So Manasseh lay down with his ancestors, and they buried him in his own house. Amon, his son, became king in his place.
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as Manasseh, his father, had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved figures that Manasseh his father had made, and he worshiped them. 23 He did not humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father had done. Instead, Amon trespassed more and more. 24 His servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. 25 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made Josiah, his son, king in his place.
1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and walked in the ways of David his ancestor, and did not turn away either to the right or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek after the God of David, his ancestor. In the twelfth year, he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, and the carved figures and the cast metal figures. 4 The people broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; he cut apart the incense altars that were above them. He broke the Asherah poles and the carved figures. He crushed the cast metal figures to dust and scattered the dust on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of their priests on their altars. In this way, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, all the way to Naphtali, and in the ruins that surrounded them. 7 He broke down the altars, crushed the Asherah poles and the carved images into powder, and cut apart all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, after Josiah had cleansed the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary, to repair the house of Yahweh his God. 9 They went to Hilkiah, the high priest, and entrusted to him the money that had been brought into the house of God, that the Levites, the guards of the doors, had gathered from Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They entrusted the money to the men who supervised the work on the temple of Yahweh. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. 11 They paid it to the carpenters and builders to buy cut stone and timber for braces, and to make beams for the structures that some kings of Judah had allowed to become ruined. 12 The men did the work faithfully. Their supervisors Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, from the sons of the Kohathites. Other Levites, all of whom were very good musicians, closely directed the workmen. 13 These Levites supervised those who carried building material and all other men who worked in any way. There were also Levites who were secretaries, administrators, and gate guards.
14 When they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh that had been given through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh." Hilkiah brought the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported to him, saying, "Your servants are doing everything that has been entrusted to them. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Yahweh, and they gave it into the hand of the supervisors and to the workmen." 18 Shaphan the scribe told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." Then Shaphan read in it to the king. 19 It came about that when the king had heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. 20 The king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, his own servant, saying, 21 "Go and ask Yahweh's will for me, and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, because of the words of the book that has been found. For it is great, the anger of Yahweh that has been poured out on us. [1] It is great, because our ancestors have not listened to the words of this book so as to obey all that was written in it."
22 So Hilkiah, and those whom the king had commanded, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second District), and they spoke with her in this way. 23 She said to them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 'This is what Yahweh says: See, I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that have been written in the book that they have read before the king of Judah. 25 This will happen because they have abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, and they have provoked me to anger by all the works of their hands. Therefore, my anger will be poured out on this place, and it will not be extinguished.' 26 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask Yahweh what he should do, this is what you will say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of Israel says this: About the words that you heard, 27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have listened to you—this is Yahweh's declaration— 28 see, I will gather you to your ancestors. You will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.'" The men took this message back to the king.
29 Then the king sent messengers and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 Then the king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, Levites, and all the people, from great to small. He then read in their hearing all the words of the book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of Yahweh. 31 The king stood in his place and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, his regulations, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to obey the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 He caused all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand by the covenant. The inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in obedience to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. 33 Josiah took away all the disgusting things from the lands that belonged to the people of Israel. He made everyone in Israel worship Yahweh, their God. For all of his days, they did not turn away from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.
1 Josiah kept a Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and they killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He placed the priests in their positions and encouraged them in the service of the house of Yahweh. 3 He said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were set apart to Yahweh, "Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David, king of Israel built. It will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now worship Yahweh your God, and serve his people Israel. 4 Organize yourselves by your clans and your divisions, following the written instructions of David, king of Israel, and those of Solomon, his son. 5 Stand in the holy place, taking your position with your divisions within the clans of your brothers, the descendants of the people, and taking your places with your divisions within the clans of the Levites. 6 Kill the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, prepare the lambs for your brothers, to do according to the word of Yahweh that was given by the hand of Moses."
7 Josiah gave thirty thousand lambs and kids from flocks for the Passover offerings to all the people who were present, and he also gave three thousand head of cattle—all of these were from the king's own possessions. 8 His leaders gave a freewill offering to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials in charge of the house of God, gave to the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and three hundred head of cattle. 9 Also Konaniah, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave five thousand Passover offerings to the Levites and five hundred head of cattle.
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, with the Levites by their divisions, in response to the king's command. 11 They killed the Passover lambs, and the priests sprinkled the blood that they received from the Levites' hand, and the Levites skinned the lambs. 12 They removed the burnt offerings, in order to distribute them to the divisions of the clans of the people, to offer them to Yahweh, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They roasted the Passover lambs with fire following the instructions. As for the consecrated offerings, they boiled them in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and they quickly carried them to all the people. 14 They later prepared offerings for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were occupied in offering the burnt offerings and the fat until nightfall, so the Levites prepared the offerings for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 15 The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were in their place, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer, and the guards were at every gate. They did not have to leave their labors because their brothers the Levites made preparations for them.
16 So, at that time the entire service of Yahweh was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, as King Josiah commanded. 17 The people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and then the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 Such a Passover celebration had never been held in Israel from the days of the prophet Samuel, nor had any of the other kings of Israel ever celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did, along with the priests, Levites, and all the people of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.
20 After all this, after Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho, king of Egypt, went up to fight against Carchemish at the Euphrates River, and Josiah went to fight against him. 21 But Necho sent ambassadors to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am making war. God has commanded me to hurry, so refrain from interfering with God, who is with me, or he might destroy you." 22 However, Josiah refused to turn away from him. He disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Necho that had come from the mouth of God; so he went to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. 23 Archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded." 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in his extra chariot. They took him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah lamented for Josiah; all the male and female singers lament about Josiah to this day. These songs became customary in Israel; behold, they are written in the songs of lament. 26 As for the other matters concerning Josiah, and his good deeds done in obedience to what is written in the law of Yahweh— 27 his deeds, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz [1] was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 The king of Egypt removed him at Jerusalem, and forced him to pay a fine on the land of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, who was the brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem (and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim). Then Necho took Eliakim's brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. 6 Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked him and bound him in chains to lead him away to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of the objects in the house of Yahweh to Babylon, and put them in his palace at Babylon. 8 As for the other matters concerning Jehoiakim, the disgusting things that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Then Jehoiachin, his son, became king in his place.
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 10 In the spring of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable things from the house of Yahweh, and made Zedekiah, his relative, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of Yahweh. 13 Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear loyalty to him by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. 14 Moreover, all the leaders of the priests and the people were extremely unfaithful, and they followed the disgusting practices of the nations. They polluted the house of Yahweh which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them by his messengers again and again, because he had compassion on his people and on the place where he lives. 16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, until there was no help for it.
17 So God brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and had no compassion on young men or virgins, old men or the gray-haired. God gave them all into his hand. 18 All the furnishings of the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and his officials—all these he took to Babylon. 19 They burned down the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all the valuable things in it. 20 The king carried away to Babylon those who had escaped the sword. They became servants for him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia. 21 This happened to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land should have enjoyed its Sabbath rests. It observed its Sabbath for all the time of its desolation so that it might pass seventy years in this way.
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be carried out, Yahweh motivated the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing. He said,
23 "This is what Cyrus, king of Persia, says: Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you from all his people, may Yahweh your God, be with you. Let him go up to the land."
1 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Yahweh fulfilled his word that came from the mouth of Jeremiah. He stirred Cyrus' spirit, and Cyrus' voice went out over his entire kingdom. This is what was written and spoken:
2 "Cyrus, king of Persia, says: Yahweh, God of Heaven, gave me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he appointed me to build for him a house in Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Whoever is from his people (may his God be with him) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 People of any part of the kingdom where survivors of that land are living as foreigners should provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, as well as a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem."
5 Then the heads of the ancestors' clans of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and Levites, and everyone whose spirit God stirred to go and build the house of Yahweh, which is in Jerusalem, arose. 6 Those around them supported their work with silver and gold objects, goods, animals, valuables, and freewill offerings. 7 Cyrus king of Persia also released the objects belonging to the house of Yahweh that Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and put in his own gods' houses. 8 Cyrus, king of Persia, put them into the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out for Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah. 9 This was their number: thirty gold basins, one thousand silver basins, twenty-nine other basins, 10 thirty gold bowls, 410 small silver bowls, and one thousand additional objects.
11 There were 5,400 gold and silver items in all. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went from Babylon to Jerusalem.
1 These are the people in the province who went up from the captivity of King Nebuchadnezzar, who had exiled them in Babylon, the people who returned to each of their cities of Jerusalem and in Judah. 2 They came with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
This is the record of the men of the people of Israel. 3 The descendants of Parosh: 2,172. 4 The descendants of Shephatiah: 372. 5 The descendants of Arah: 775. 6 The descendants of Pahath-Moab, through Jeshua and Joab: 2,812. 7 The descendants of Elam: 1,254. 8 The descendants of Zattu: 945. 9 The descendants of Zakkai: 760. 10 The descendants of Bani: 642. 11 The descendants of Bebai: 623. 12 The descendants of Azgad: 1,222. 13 The descendants of Adonikam: 666. 14 The descendants of Bigvai: 2,056. 15 The descendants of Adin: 454. 16 The men of Ater, through Hezekiah: ninety-eight. 17 The descendants of Bezai: 323. 18 The descendants of Jorah: 112. 19 The men of Hashum: 223. 20 The men of Gibbar: ninety-five. 21 The men of Bethlehem: 123. 22 The men of Netophah: fifty-six. 23 The men of Anathoth: 128. 24 The men of Azmaveth: forty-two. 25 The men of Kiriath Arim, Kephirah, and Beeroth: 743. 26 The men of Ramah and Geba: 621. 27 The men of Mikmash: 122. 28 The men of Bethel and Ai: 223. 29 The men of Nebo: fifty-two. 30 The men of Magbish: 156. 31 The men of the other Elam: 1,254. 32 The men of Harim: 320. 33 The men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono: 725. 34 The men of Jericho: 345. 35 The men of Senaah: 3,630.
36 The priests: descendants of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua: 973. 37 Immer's descendants: 1,052. 38 Pashhur's descendants: 1,247. 39 Harim's descendants: 1,017.
40 The Levites: descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, descendants of Hodaviah: seventy-four.
41 The temple singers, descendants of Asaph: 128.
42 The descendants of the gatekeepers: descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai: 139 total.
43 Those who were assigned to serve in the temple: descendants of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, 44 Keros, Siaha, Padon, 45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, 46 Hagab, Shalmai, and Hanan. 47 The descendants of Giddel: Gahar, Reaiah, 48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, 49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai, 50 Asnah, Meunim, and Nephusim. 51 The descendants of Bakbuk: Hakupha, Harhur, 52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, 53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah, 54 Neziah, and Hatipha.
55 The descendants of Solomon's servants: descendants of Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, 56 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel, 57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and Ami. 58 There were 392 total descendants of those assigned to serve in the temple and descendants of Solomon's servants.
59 Those who left Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer—but were not able to prove their ancestry from Israel— 60 included 652 descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda.
61 Also, from the priest's descendants: the descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who took his wife from the daughters of Barzillai of Gilead and was called by their name). 62 They searched for their genealogical records, but could not find them, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63 So the governor told them they must not eat any of the holy sacrifices until a priest with Urim and Thummim approved.
64 The whole group totaled 42,360, 65 not including their servants and their maidservants (these were 7,337) and their male and female temple singers (two hundred). 66 Their horses: 736. Their mules: 245. 67 Their camels: 435. Their donkeys: 6,720.
68 When they went to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem, the chief patriarchs offered freewill gifts to build the house of God, to put it back on its foundation. 69 They gave according to their ability to the work fund: sixty-one thousand gold darics, five thousand silver minas, and one hundred priestly tunics.
70 So the priests and Levites, the people, the temple singers and gatekeepers, and those assigned to serve in the temple inhabited their cities. All the people in Israel were in their cities.
1 It was the seventh month after the descendants of Israel came back to their cities, when the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brothers rose up and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. 3 Then they established the altar on its stand, for terror was on them because of the people of the land. They offered burnt offerings to Yahweh at dawn and evening. 4 They also observed the Festival of Shelters as it is written and offered burnt offerings day by day according to the decree, each day's duty on its day. 5 Accordingly, there were daily burnt offerings, offerings for the new moons, and offerings for all the fixed feasts of Yahweh that had been consecrated, as well as freewill offerings from all those who offered them to Yahweh. 6 They began to offer up burnt offerings to Yahweh on the first day of the seventh month, although the temple had not been founded. 7 So they gave silver to the stoneworkers and craftsmen, and they gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so they would bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized for them by Cyrus, king of Persia.
8 Then in the second month of the second year after they came to the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and those who came from captivity back to Jerusalem began the work. They assigned the Levites twenty years old and older to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh. 9 Jeshua and his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons (who were descendants of Hodaviah), and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers-all of them were Levites-joined together in overseeing those working on the house of God. [1]10 The builders laid a foundation for the temple of Yahweh. This enabled the priests to stand in their garments with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, to praise Yahweh with cymbals, just as the hand of David, king of Israel had commanded. 11 They sang with praise and thankfulness to Yahweh, "He is good! His covenant faithfulness to Israel endures forever." All the people cried out with a great shout of joy in praise of Yahweh because the temple's foundations had been laid. 12 But many of the priests, Levites, and chief patriarchs, those who were old and had seen the first house, when this house's foundations were laid before their eyes, wept loudly. But many people had shouts of joy with gladness and an excited sound. 13 As a result, people were not able to distinguish the joyful and glad sounds from the sound of people weeping, for the people were crying out with great joy, and the sound was heard from far away.
1 Now some enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people who had been exiled were now building a temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel. 2 So they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of their ancestors' clans. They said to them, "Let us build with you, for, like you, we seek your God and have sacrificed to him since the days when Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, brought us to this place." 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of their ancestors' clans said, "It is not you, but we who must build the house of our God, for it is we who will build for Yahweh, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded." 4 So the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah; they made the Judeans afraid to build. 5 They also bribed counselors to frustrate their plans. They did this during all of the days of Cyrus and into the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 Then at the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, [1] they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 It was during the days of Artaxerxes that Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their associates wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote this way to King Artaxerxes about Jerusalem.
9 Then Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and their other associates, who were judges and other officers in the government, the Persians, men from Uruk [2] and Babylon, and the men from Susa (that is, the Elamites)—they wrote a letter— 10 and they were joined by the people whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal exiled and forced to settle in Samaria, along with the rest who were in the Province Beyond the River.
11 This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes, your servants, men of the Province Beyond the River, write this:
12 Let the king know that the Jews who went from you have come against us in Jerusalem to build a rebellious city. They have completed the walls and repaired the foundations. 13 Now let the king know that if this city is built and the wall is completed, they will not give any tribute, taxes, or tolls, and that will harm the treasury of the kings. 14 Surely because we have eaten the palace salt, it is not fitting for us to see any dishonor happen to the king. It is because of this that we are sending this to inform to the king 15 to search your father's record books and to learn that this is a rebellious city that will harm kings and provinces. It has caused many problems to the kings and provinces. It has been a center for rebellion from long ago. It was for this reason that the city was destroyed. 16 We are informing the king that if this city and wall are built, then there will be nothing remaining for you in the Province Beyond the River."
17 So the king sent out a reply to Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and their associates in Samaria and the rest who were in the Province Beyond the River: "May peace be yours.
18 The letter that you sent me has been translated and read to me. 19 So a decree was issued by me, and they searched and found that for a long time that city has risen up against kings, and rebellion and revolt have been made in it. 20 Mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and had power over everything in the Province Beyond the River. Tribute, taxes, and tolls were paid to them. 21 Now, make a decree for these men to stop and not build this city until I make a decree. 22 Be careful not to neglect this. Why allow this threat to grow and cause more loss for the royal interests?
23 When King Artaxerxes' decree was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they went out quickly to Jerusalem and forced the Jews to stop building.
24 So the work on the house of God in Jerusalem stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
1 Then Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied in the name of the God of Israel to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God in Jerusalem with the prophets who supported them. 3 Then Tattenai the governor of the Province Beyond the River, Shethar-Bozenai, and his associates came and said to them, "Who gave you a decree to build this house and complete these walls?" 4 They also said, "What are the names of the men building this building?" 5 But God's eye was on the Jewish elders and their enemies did not stop them. They were waiting for a letter to be sent to Darius and for a decree to be returned to them concerning this.
6 This is a copy of the letter of Tattenai, governor of the Province Beyond the River, and Shethar-Bozenai and his associates in the Province Beyond the River, which they sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent a report, writing this to King Darius, "May all peace be yours.
8 Let the king know that we went to the province of Judah to the house of the great God. It is being built with large stones and timbers set in the walls. This work is being done thoroughly and is prospering in their hands. 9 We asked the elders, 'Who issued you a decree to build this house and these walls?' 10 We also asked them their names to make them known to you; so the names of the men who were at their head are written down. 11 This is how they answered us; they said, 'We are servants of the one who is the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding this house that had been built many years ago when the great king of Israel built it and completed it. 12 However, when our ancestors enraged the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and took the people into exile in Babylon. 13 Nevertheless, in the first year when Cyrus was king of Babylon, Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild the house of God. 14 King Cyrus also returned the gold and silver objects belonging to the house of God that Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the temple in Jerusalem to the temple in Babylon. He restored them to someone named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. 15 He said to him, "Take these objects. Go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem. Let the house of God be rebuilt there." 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation for the house of God in Jerusalem; and it is being constructed, but is not yet complete.'
17 Now if it pleases the king, may it be investigated in the house of archives in Babylon if a decree from King Cyrus was issued to build this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send his decision to us.
1 So King Darius issued a decree, and they searched in the house of archives, where the treasuries were stored, there in Babylon. 2 In the fortified city of Ecbatana in the province of Media a scroll was found; this was its record:
3 "In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus issued a decree about the house of God in Jerusalem: 'Let the house be rebuilt as a place for sacrifice, let its foundations be laid, let its height be sixty cubits, and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of large stones and a row of new timber, and let the cost be paid by the king's house. 5 Now bring back the gold and silver objects belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon from the temple in Jerusalem and send them back to the temple in Jerusalem. You are to put them in the house of God.'
6 Now Tattenai, governor of the Province Beyond the River, Shethar-Bozenai, and your associates who are in the Province Beyond the River, keep away! 7 Leave the work of this house of God alone. The governor and Jewish elders will build this house of God at that place. 8 I am issuing a decree that you must do this for these Jewish elders who build this house of God: Funds from the king's tribute beyond the River will be used to pay these men so they do not have to stop their work. 9 Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, or lambs for the burnt offerings to the God of Heaven, grain, salt, wine, or oil according to the command of the priests in Jerusalem—give these things to them every day without fail. 10 Do this so they will bring in sacrifices pleasing to the God of Heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 I have issued a decree that if anyone violates this decree, a beam must be pulled from his house and he must be impaled on it. His house must then be turned into a rubbish heap because of this. 12 May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to violate this decree, or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, hereby issue this decree. Let it be done with diligence!" 13 Then because of the decree sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the Province Beyond the River, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates, did everything that King Darius had ordered. 14 So the Jewish elders built and prospered under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, the descendant of Iddo. They completed their buildings according to the decree of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes the king of Persia. 15 The house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of King Darius' reign.
16 The Israelite people, priests, Levites, and the rest of the captives celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered one hundred bulls, one hundred rams, and four hundred lambs for the dedication of the house of God. Twelve male goats were also offered as a sin offering for all Israel, one for each tribe in Israel. 18 They also assigned the priests and Levites to work divisions for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it was written in the book of Moses.
19 So those who had been in exile celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 The priests and Levites all purified themselves; all of them were clean. Then they slaughtered the Passover sacrifices for all those who had been in exile, including themselves. 21 The people of Israel who ate some of the Passover meat were those who had returned from exile and had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land and sought Yahweh, the God of Israel. 22 They joyfully celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days, for Yahweh had brought them joy and turned the heart of Assyria's king to strengthen their hands in the work of his house, the house of the God of Israel.
1 Now after this, during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. Ezra's ancestors were Seraiah, Azariah, Hilkiah, 2 Shallum, Zadok, Ahitub, 3 Amariah, Azariah, Meraioth, 4 Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki, 5 Abishua, Phinehas, Eleazar, who was son of Aaron the high priest. 6 Ezra came up from Babylon and he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses that Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given. The king gave him anything he asked since the hand of Yahweh was with him. 7 Some of the descendants of Israel and the priests, Levites, temple singers, gatekeepers, and those assigned to serve in the temple also went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 He arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was the seventh year of the king. 9 He left Babylon on the first day of the first month. It was on the first day of the fifth month that he arrived in Jerusalem, since the good hand of God was with him. 10 Ezra had established his heart to study the law of Yahweh and to carry out and teach its statutes and decrees in Israel.
11 This was the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, an expert in the words of the commandments of Yahweh, and in his statutes for Israel.
12 "The King of kings Artaxerxes, to the priest Ezra, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven:
13 I hereby issue a decree that anyone from the people of Israel in my kingdom—along with their priests and Levites—who desires to go to Jerusalem may go with you. 14 I, the king, and my seven counselors, send you all out to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 You are to bring the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem. 16 Freely give all the silver and gold that you find in the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offerings that the people and the priests have willingly offered for the house of God in Jerusalem. 17 So use this money to buy in full the oxen, rams and lambs, and grain offerings and drink offerings. Offer them on the altar that is in the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 Do with the rest of the silver and gold whatever seems good to you and your brothers, to please your God. 19 Place the objects that were freely given to you before him for the service of the house of your God in Jerusalem. 20 Anything else that is needed for the house of your God that you require, take its cost from the royal treasury. 21 I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue a decree to all the treasurers in the Province Beyond the River, that anything that Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, asks from you should be given in full, 22 up to one hundred silver talents, one hundred cors of grain, one hundred baths of wine, and one hundred baths of oil, also salt without limit. 23 Anything that comes from the decree of the God of Heaven, do it with devotion for his house. For why should his wrath come upon the kingdom of the king and his sons? 24 We are informing them that there is no authority to impose any tribute or taxes or tolls on any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, or on the people assigned to the service of the temple and servants of the house of this God. 25 Ezra, with the wisdom that God has given you, you must appoint judges and magistrates to judge all the people in the Province Beyond the River, and to serve all who know the laws of your God. You must also teach those who do not know the law. 26 As for whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king—let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether death or banishment or confiscation of his goods or imprisonment.
27 Blessed be Yahweh, our ancestors' God, who placed all this into the king's heart to glorify the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended covenant faithfulness to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. I have been strengthened by the hand of Yahweh my God, and I gathered prominent men from Israel to go with me.
1 These are the leaders of their ancestors' families, and this is the genealogy of those who left Babylon with me during the reign of King Artaxerxes.
2 Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the descendants of David, Hattush. 3 Of the descendants of Shekaniah, who was from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him there were 150 males listed in his genealogy.
4 Of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and with him were two hundred males.
5 Of the descendants of Zattu, Ben Jahaziel and with him were three hundred males.
6 Of the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan and with him were listed fifty males.
7 Of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah and with him were listed seventy males.
8 Of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael and with him were listed eighty males.
9 Of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel and with him were listed 218 males.
10 Of the descendants of Bani, [1] Shelomith son of Josiphiah and with him were listed 160 males.
11 Of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai and with him were listed twenty-eight males.
12 Of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan and with him were listed 110 males.
13 Those of the descendants of Adonikam came later. These were their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah and with them came sixty males.
14 Of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai and Zakkur and with him were listed seventy males.
15 I gathered the travelers at the canal that goes to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I examined the people and priests, but could not find any descendants of Levi there. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, and Elnathan and Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam—who were leaders—and for Joiarib and Elnathan—who were teachers. 17 Next I sent them to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his relatives, the temple servants living in Kasiphia, that is, to send to us servants for the house of God. 18 So they sent us by our God's good hand a man named Sherebiah, a prudent man. He was a descendant of Mahli son of Levi son of Israel. He came with eighteen sons and brothers. 19 With him came Hashabiah. There also were Jeshaiah, one of the descendants of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men in all. 20 Of those assigned to serve in the temple, whom David and his officials gave to serve the Levites: 220, each of them assigned by name.
21 Then I proclaimed a fast at the Ahava Canal to humble ourselves before God, to seek a straight path from him for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for an army or horsemen to protect us against enemies along the way, since we had said to the king, 'The hand of our God is on all who seek him for good, but his might and wrath are on all who forget him.' 23 So we fasted and sought God about this, and he heard our prayer.
24 Next I selected twelve men from the priestly officials: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers. 25 I weighed out for them silver, gold, and the objects and offerings for the house of God that the king, his counselors and officials, and all Israel had freely offered. 26 So I weighed into their hand 650 talents of silver, one hundred talents of silver objects, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty gold bowls that were together valued at one thousand darics, and two well-polished bronze vessels as precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, "You are consecrated to Yahweh, and these objects also, and the silver and gold are a freewill offering to Yahweh, the God of your ancestors. 29 Watch over them and keep them until you weigh them out before the priestly officials, Levites, and leaders of the ancestors' clans of Israel in Jerusalem in the rooms of the house of God." 30 The priests and the Levites accepted the weighed silver, gold, and the objects in order to take them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
31 We went out from the Ahava Canal on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us; he protected us from the hand of the enemy and the ones who wished to ambush us along the road. 32 So we entered Jerusalem and stayed there for three days. 33 Then on the fourth day the silver, gold, and objects were weighed out in the house of our God, into the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah the priest. With him were Eleazar son of Phinehas, Jozabad son of Jeshua, and Noadiah son of Binnui the Levite. 34 The number and weight of everything was determined. All the weight was written down at that time.
35 The ones who came back from the captivity, the people of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all of Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All were a burnt offering for Yahweh. 36 Then they gave the king's decrees to the king's high officials and the governors in the Province Beyond the River, and they helped the people and the house of God.
1 When these things were done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands and their abominations: Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters and sons, and have mixed the holy people with the peoples of the lands, and the leaders and officials have been first in this faithlessness." 3 When I heard this, I tore apart my clothing and robe and pulled out hair from my head and beard, and I sat down, devastated. 4 All those who trembled at the words of the God of Israel about the faithlessness of the exiles gathered to me while I was sitting devastated until the evening offering.
5 But at the evening offering I arose from my position of humiliation in my torn clothes and robe, and knelt down and spread my hands to Yahweh my God. 6 I said, "My God, I am ashamed and disgraced to raise my face to you, for our iniquities increase over our head, and our guilt grows to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until now we have been in great guilt. In our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests were given into the hand of kings of this world, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder and ashamed faces, as we are today. 8 Yet now for a short time, mercy from Yahweh our God has come to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a foothold in his holy place. This was for our God to enlighten our eyes and to give us a little relief in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves, but our God has not forgotten us in our slavery. Rather, he has extended covenant faithfulness to us before the king of Persia. He has given us new strength to rebuild the house of our God and raise its ruins, and he has given us a wall of safety in Judah and Jerusalem. 10 But now, our God, what can we say after this? We have forgotten your commands, 11 the commands that you gave to your servants the prophets, when you said, "This land that you are entering to possess is an unclean land. It is contaminated by the people of the lands with their abominations. They have filled it from one end to the other with their uncleanness. 12 So now, do not give your daughters to their sons; do not take their daughters for your sons, and do not seek their ongoing peace and welfare, so that you will be strong and eat the good of the land, so you will cause your children to possess it for all time." 13 Yet after everything that came on us for our evil practices and our great guilt—since you, our God, have held back what our iniquities deserve and left us an escaped remnant— 14 should we again break your commandments and make mixed marriages with these abominable people? Will you not be angry and annihilate us so there will be no remnant, no one to escape? 15 Yahweh, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have remained as an escaped remnant to this day. Look! We are here before you in our guilt, for there is no one who can stand before you because of this.
1 As Ezra prayed and confessed, he wept and threw himself down before the house of God. A very great assembly of Israelite men, women, and children gathered to him, for the people were weeping very greatly. 2 Shekaniah son of Jehiel of the descendants of Elam said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. 3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send out all the women and their children according to the Lord's instructions and the instructions of those who tremble at the commandments of our God, and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise, for this thing is for you to carry out, and we are with you. Be strong and do this."
5 So Ezra rose and made the priestly officials, the Levites, and all of Israel promise to act in this way. So they all took a solemn oath. 6 Then Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the rooms of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat any bread or drink any water, since he was mourning concerning the faithlessness of those who had been in captivity. 7 So they sent word in Judah and Jerusalem to all the people back from exile to assemble in Jerusalem. 8 Anyone who did not come in three days according to the instructions from the officials and elders—all of his possessions would be forfeited, and he himself would be excluded from the great assembly of the people who had come back from exile.
9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem in three days. It was the ninth month and the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains. 10 Ezra the priest arose and said, "You yourselves have committed treason. You lived with foreign women so as to increase Israel's guilt. 11 But now give confession to Yahweh, your ancestors' God, and do his will. Separate from the people of the land and from the foreign women." 12 All the assembly answered in a loud voice, "We will do as you have said. 13 However, there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We have no strength to stand outside, and this is not only one or two days of work, since we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 So let our officials represent all the assembly. Let all in our cities who have married foreign women come at an appointed time that will be appointed by the city elders and the city judges until the raging wrath of our God goes away from us." 15 Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.
16 So the people who returned from exile did this. Ezra the priest selected men, the leaders in their ancestors' clans and houses—all of them by name, and they investigated the matter on the first day of the tenth month. 17 By the first day of the first month they had finished discovering which men had lived with foreign women.
18 Among the descendants of the priests there were those who had lived with foreign women. Among the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers there were Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 So they determined to send their wives away. Since they were guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt.
20 Among the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah.
21 Among the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.
22 Among the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
23 Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah—that is, Kelita, Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
24 Among the singers: Eliashib. Among the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri.
25 Among the rest of the Israelites—among the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah. [1]
26 Among the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.
27 Among the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.
28 Among the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.
29 Among the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluk, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth. [2]
30 Among the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.
31 Among the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluk, and Shemariah.
33 Among the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.
34 Among the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.
38 Among the descendants of Binnui: Shimei, [3]39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, [4]41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.
43 Among the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah.
44 All of these had taken foreign wives and had children with some of them. [5]
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:
Now it happened in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the fortress of Susa, 2 that one of my brothers, Hanani, and some men from Judah came, and I asked them about the Jews, the escaped remnant, those who had escaped from the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, "Those in the province who survived the captivity are in great trouble and disgrace because the wall of Jerusalem has been broken open, and its gates have been set on fire."
4 As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept, and for days I continued grieving and fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said, "Please, I beg you, Yahweh, God of heaven, the God who is great and awesome, who keeps the covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 may your eyes be open and may your ear be attentive so you may hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants. I am confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very wickedly against you, and we have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Please call to mind the word you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and follow my commandments and do them, though your people were scattered under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to that place where I have chosen to make my name remain.' 10 Now they are your servants and your people, whom you have rescued by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 Please, I beg you, Lord, may your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to honor your name. Now give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."
I served as cupbearer to the king.
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, he selected wine, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never before been sad in his presence. 2 But the king said to me, "Why is your face so sad? You do not appear to be ill. This must be sadness of heart." Then I became very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad? The city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire." 4 Then the king said to me, "What do you want me to do?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I replied to the king, "If it seems good to the king, and if your servant has done well in your sight, you could send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." 6 The king replied to me (and the queen was also sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone and when will you return?" The king was glad to send me when I gave him an appointed time. 7 Then I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors in the Province Beyond the River so that they may permit me to pass through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 May there also be a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, so that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress next to the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house in which I will live."
So because the good hand of God was on me, the king granted me my requests.
9 I came to the governors in the Province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me commanders of the army and horsemen. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were greatly displeased that someone had come who was seeking to help the people of Israel. 11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me, other than the one I was riding. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate, toward the Jackal's Well and to the Dung Gate, and inspected the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken open, and the wooden gates were destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool. The place was too narrow for the animal I was riding to pass through. 15 So I went up that night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 The rulers did not know where I went or what I did, and I had not yet informed the Jews, nor the priests, nor the nobles, nor the rulers, nor the rest who did the work.
17 I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I told them that the good hand of my God was on me and also about the king's words that he had spoken to me. They said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian heard about it, they mocked and showed us contempt, and they said, "What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" 20 Then I answered them, "The God of heaven will give us success. We are his servants and we will arise and build. But you have no share, no right, and no historic claim in Jerusalem."
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brother priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors in place. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred and as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 Next to him the men of Jericho worked, and next to them Zakkur son of Imri worked.
3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They made beams for it, and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4 Meremoth repaired the next section. He is the son of Uriah son of Hakkoz. Next to them Meshullam repaired. He is the son of Berekiah son of Meshezabel. Next to them Zadok repaired. He is the son of Baana. 5 Next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles refused to do the labor ordered by their supervisors.
6 Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They made beams for it, and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7 Next to them were men from Gibeon and Mizpah—Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite—the throne of the governor of the Province Beyond the River. 8 Next to him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired, and next to him was Hananiah, a maker of perfumes. They rebuilt Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur repaired. He was the official over half the district of Jerusalem. 10 Next to them Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired next to his house. Next to him Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired. 11 Malkijah son of Harim and Hasshub son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section along with the Tower of the Furnaces. 12 Next to them Shallum son of Hallohesh, the official over half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, along with his daughters.
13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. They repaired a thousand cubits as far as the Dung Gate.
14 Malkijah son of Rekab, the official over the district of Beth Hakkerem, repaired the Dung Gate. He built it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.
15 Shallun son of Kol-Hozeh, the official over the district of Mizpah, rebuilt the Fountain Gate. He built it, and put a cover on it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He also rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam by the king's garden, as far as the stairs leading down from the city of David. 16 Nehemiah son of Azbuk, the official over half the district of Beth Zur, repaired to the place across from the tombs of David, to the man-made pool, and to the house of the mighty men. 17 After him the Levites repaired, including Rehum son of Bani and next to him, Hashabiah, the official over half the district of Keilah, for his district. 18 After him their brothers repaired, including Binnui son of Henadad, the official over half the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, the official over Mizpah, repaired another section that faced the ascent to the armory at the corner of the wall. 20 After him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the corner of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22 Next to him the priests, the men from the area around Jerusalem, repaired. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their own house. After them Azariah son of Maaseiah son of Ananiah repaired next to his own house. 24 After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the corner of the wall. 25 Palal son of Uzai repaired over against the corner of the wall and the tower that extends upward from the upper house of the king at the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh repaired. 26 Now the temple servants living in Ophel repaired to the point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. 27 After him the Tekoites repaired another section that was opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.
28 The priests repaired above the Horse Gate, each opposite his own house. 29 After them Zadok son of Immer repaired the section opposite his own house. Then after him Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the keeper of the east gate, repaired. 30 After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired opposite his living chambers. 31 After him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired to the house of the temple servants and the merchants that was opposite the Appointment Gate and the upper living chambers on the corner. 32 The goldsmiths and the merchants repaired between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate.
1 Now when Sanballat heard we were building the wall, anger burned within him, and he was furiously angry, and he mocked the Jews. 2 In the presence of his brothers and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore the city for themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish the work in a day? Will they bring to life the stones from the piles of rubble after they were burned? 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said, "If only a fox went up on what they are building, it would break down their stone wall!"
4 Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunts on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover over their iniquity and let their sin not be blotted out from before you, for they have provoked the builders to anger.
6 So we built the wall and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a desire to work.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the work of repairing the walls of Jerusalem was going forward, and that the broken places in the wall were being closed up, a great anger burned within them. 8 They all conspired together, and they came to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. 9 But we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night because of their threat. 10 Then the people of Judah said, "The strength of those who carry the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble, and we are not able to rebuild the wall."
11 Our enemies said, "They will not know or see until we come among them and kill them, and stop the work." 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and spoke to us ten times, warning us about the schemes they were making against us. 13 So I positioned people in the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I positioned each family with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then I looked, and stood up, and I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Call to mind the Lord, who is great and awesome. Fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
15 It came about when our enemies heard that their plans were known to us, and God had frustrated their plans, all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16 So from that time half of my servants worked only on rebuilding the wall, and half of them held spears, shields, bows, and wore armor, while the leaders stood behind all the people of Judah 17 and those who were building the wall. Those who carried burdens carried their loads such that each did his work with one hand, and with the other hand he held his weapon. 18 Every builder wore his sword girded at his side, and that is how he worked. The one who sounded the ram's horn stayed beside me. 19 I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. 20 You must rush to the place where you hear the ram's horn sound and assemble there. Our God will fight for us."
21 So we were doing the work. Half of them were holding spears from the rising of the dawn until the coming out of the stars. 22 I also said to the people at that time, "Let every man and his servant spend the night in the middle of Jerusalem, so they may be for us a guard during the night and a worker in the day." 23 So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us changed our clothes, and each of us carried his weapon, even if he went for water.
1 Then the people and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 2 For there were some who said, "With our sons and daughters we are many. So let us get grain that we may eat and stay alive." 3 There were also some who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain during the famine." 4 Some also said, "We have borrowed money to pay the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Yet now our flesh and blood is the same as our brothers, and our children are the same as their children. We are forced to sell our sons and our daughters to become slaves. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved. But it is not in our power to help it because other men now own our fields and our vineyards."
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 Then I thought about this, and earnestly appealed to the nobles and officials. I said to them, "You are exacting interest, each from his own brother." I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, "As for us, we have, according to our ability, bought back from slavery our Jewish brothers who had been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold back to us!" They were silent and never found a word to say. 9 Also I said, "What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations that are our enemies? 10 I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. But we must stop charging interest on these loans. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses and the percentage of the money, the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you exacted from them." 12 Then they said, "We will return what we took from them, and will require nothing from them. We will do as you say." Then I called the priests, and made them swear to do as they had promised. 13 I shook out the fold of my robe and said, "So may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep his promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied."
All the assembly said, "Amen," and they praised Yahweh and the people did as they had promised.
14 So from the time I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food provided for the governor. 15 But the former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people, and took from them forty shekels of silver for their daily food and wine. Even their servants were lords over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. 16 I also continued to work on the wall, and we bought no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 At my table were the Jews and the officials, 150 men, besides those who came to us from among the nations who were around us. 18 Now what was prepared each day was one ox, six choice sheep, and also birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance, yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the labor was heavy on this people.
19 Call me to mind, my God, for good, because of all that I have done for this people.
1 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there were no longer any sections left broken open, although I had not yet set up the doors in the gates, 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono." But they intended to do harm to me. 3 I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" 4 They sent me the same message four times, and I answered them the same way each time. 5 Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written,
"It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel, for that is why you are rebuilding the wall. From what these reports say, you are about to become their king.
7 You have also appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem, saying, 'There is a king in Judah!' You can be sure the king will hear these reports. Therefore come, let us discuss the matter with one another."
8 Then I sent word to him saying, "No such things have occurred as you say, for within your heart you invented them." 9 For they all wanted to make us afraid, thinking, "Their hands will drop from the work, and the work will not be done." But now, God, please strengthen my hands. 10 I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah son of Mehetabel, who was confined in his home. He said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. At night they are coming to kill you." 11 I replied, "Would a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple just so he could save his own life? I will not go in!" 12 I realized that it was not God who sent him, but that he had prophesied against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 They hired him to make me afraid, so that I might do what he said and sin, so they could give me a bad name in order to humiliate me.
14 Call to mind Tobiah and Sanballat, my God according to their deeds. Also call to mind the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who tried to make me be afraid.
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, after fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us, they became afraid and they fell greatly in their own eyes. For they knew the work was done with the help of our God. 17 At this time the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them. 18 For there were many in Judah who were bound by an oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shekaniah son of Arah. His son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 They also spoke to me about his good deeds and reported my words back to him.
Letters were sent to me from Tobiah to frighten me.
1 When the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in place, and the gatekeepers and singers and Levites had been appointed, 2 I put my brother Hanani in charge over Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, the overseer of the fortress, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. 3 I said to them, "Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are on guard, you may shut the doors and bar them. Appoint guards from those who live in Jerusalem, some at the place of their guard station, and some in front of their own homes." 4 Now the city was wide and large, but there were few people within it, and no houses had yet been rebuilt.
5 My God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, the officials, and the people to enroll them by families. I found the book of the genealogy of those who returned at the first and found the following written in it. 6 "These are the people of the province who went up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his city. 7 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel included the following. 8 The descendants of Parosh, 2,172. 9 The descendants of Shephatiah, 372. 10 The descendants of Arah, 652. 11 The descendants of Pahath-Moab, through the descendants of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. 12 The descendants of Elam, 1,254. 13 The descendants of Zattu, 845. 14 The descendants of Zakkai, 760. 15 The descendants of Binnui, 648. 16 The descendants of Bebai, 628. 17 The descendants of Azgad, 2,322. 18 The descendants of Adonikam, 667. 19 The descendants of Bigvai, 2,067. 20 The descendants of Adin, 655. 21 The descendants of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98. 22 The descendants of Hashum, 328. 23 The descendants of Bezai, 324. 24 The descendants of Hariph, 112. 25 The descendants of Gibeon, 95. 26 The men from Bethlehem and Netophah, 188. 27 The men from Anathoth, 128. 28 The men of Beth Azmaveth, 42. 29 The men of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743. 30 The men of Ramah and Geba, 621. 31 The men of Mikmash, 122. 32 The men of Bethel and Ai, 123. 33 The men of the other Nebo, 52. 34 The people of the other Elam, 1,254. 35 The men of Harim, 320. 36 The men of Jericho, 345. 37 The men of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721. 38 The men of Senaah, 3,930.
39 The priests: The descendants of Jedaiah (of the house of Jeshua), 973. 40 The descendants of Immer, 1,052. 41 The descendants of Pashhur, 1,247. 42 The descendants of Harim, 1,017.
43 The Levites: The descendants of Jeshua, through the descendants of Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah, 74.
44 The singers: The descendants of Asaph, 148.
45 The gatekeepers of the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, the descendants of Shobai, 138.
46 The temple servants: The descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth, 47 the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon, 48 the descendants of Lebana, the descendants of Hagaba, the descendants of Shalmai, 49 the descendants of Hanan, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar. 50 The descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin, the descendants of Nekoda, 51 the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah, 52 the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephusim. 53 The descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur, 54 the descendants of Bazluth, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha, 55 the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah, 56 the descendants of Neziah, the descendants of Hatipha.
57 The descendants of Solomon's servants: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida, 58 the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel, 59 the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pokereth-Hazzebaim, the descendants of Amon. 60 All the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants, were 392.
61 These were the people who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. But they could not prove that they or their ancestors' families were descendants from Israel: 62 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 642.
63 Those who were from the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who took his wife from the daughters of Barzillai of Gilead and was called by their name). 64 These sought their records among those enrolled by their families, but they could not be found, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 Then the governor said to them that they should not be allowed to eat the priests' share of food from the sacrifices until there rose up a priest with Urim and Thummim.
66 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67 besides their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337. They had 245 singing men and women. 68 Their horses were 736 in number, their mules, 245, 69 their camels, 435, and their donkeys, 6,720.
70 Some from among the heads of ancestors' families gave gifts for the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics of gold, 50 basins, and 530 priestly garments. [1]71 Some of the heads of ancestors' families gave into the treasury for the work twenty thousand darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 The rest of the people gave twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel lived in their cities.
By the seventh month the people of Israel were settled in their cities."
1 All the people gathered as one man in the open area in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded Israel. 2 On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear and understand. 3 He faced the open area in front of the Water Gate, and he read from it from early morning until midday, before men and women, and any who could understand, and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. 4 Then Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform which the people had made for the purpose. Standing beside him were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right side; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam were standing on his left side. 5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above the people, and when he opened it all the people stood up. 6 Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God, and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah—the Levites—helped the people understand the law, while the people remained in their place. [1]8 They read in the book, The Law of God, making it clear with interpretation and giving the meaning so the people understood the reading.
9 Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting to the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then Nehemiah said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and have something sweet to drink, and send some of it to one who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength." 11 So the Levites made the people be quiet, saying, "Hush! for this day is holy. Do not be grieved." 12 Then all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to share food and to celebrate with great joy because they had understood the words that were made known to them.
13 On the second day the leaders of the ancestors' families from all the people, the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe to gain insight from the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law how Yahweh had commanded through Moses that the people of Israel should live in shelters during the festival of the seventh month. 15 They should make a proclamation in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out into the hill country, and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtle, palms and shade trees, to make shelters, as it is written." 16 So the people went out and brought the branches back and made themselves shelters, each on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, in the open area in front of the Water Gate, and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 All the assembly of those who had returned from captivity made shelters and lived in them. For since the days of Joshua son of Nun to that day, the people of Israel had not celebrated this festival, and so their joy was very great. 18 Also day by day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the book of the law of God. They kept the festival for seven days and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, in obedience to the decree.
1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the same month the people of Israel were assembled and they were fasting, and they were wearing sackcloth, and they put dust on their heads. 2 The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners. They stood and confessed their own sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. 3 They stood up in their places, and for one-fourth of the day they read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God. For another fourth of the day they were confessing and bowing down before Yahweh their God. 4 The Levites, Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani, stood on the stairs and they called out with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "Stand up and give praise to Yahweh your God forever and ever."
"May they bless your glorious name, and may it be exalted above every blessing and praise. 6 You are Yahweh. You alone. You have made heaven, the highest heavens, with all their host, and the earth and everything on it, and the seas and all that is in them. You give life to them all, and the host of heaven worship you. 7 You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart was faithful before you, and you made with him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.
9 You saw the affliction of our forefathers in Egypt and you heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds. 10 You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and on all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians acted with arrogance against them. But you made a name for yourself which stands to this day. 11 Then you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the middle of the sea on the dry land; and threw those who pursued them into the depths, as a stone into deep waters. 12 You led them by a pillar of cloud during the day, and by a pillar of fire during the night to light the way for them to go. 13 On Mount Sinai you came down and you spoke with them from heaven and gave to them righteous decrees and true laws, good statutes and commandments. 14 You made your holy Sabbath known to them, and you gave them commandments and statutes and a law through Moses your servant. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and water from a rock for their thirst, and you said to them to go in to possess the land you swore on oath to give them.
16 But they and our ancestors acted arrogantly, and they stiffened their necks and did not listen to your commandments. 17 They refused to listen, and they did not think about the wonders that you had done among them, but they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their slavery. But you are a God who is full of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. You did not abandon them. 18 Even when they had cast a calf out of molten metal and said, 'This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you, in your compassion, did not abandon them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them on the way did not leave them during day, neither did the pillar of fire by night to light the way for them to go. 20 Your good Spirit you gave them to instruct them, and your manna you did not withhold from their mouths, and water you gave them for their thirst. 21 For forty years you provided for them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. 22 You gave them kingdoms and peoples, assigning to them every corner of the land. Then they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You made their children as numerous as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you told their ancestors to go in and possess. 24 So the people went in and possessed the land and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites. You gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that Israel might do with them as they pleased. 25 They captured the fortified cities and a productive land, and they took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already cut out, vineyards and olive orchards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were satisfied and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in your great goodness.
26 Then they became disobedient and they rebelled against you. They threw your law behind their backs. They murdered your prophets who had warned them to turn back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 27 So you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. In the time of their suffering, they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven, and because of your great mercies you sent them rescuers who rescued them out of the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so their enemies ruled over them. Yet when they returned and cried out to you, you heard from heaven, and many times because of your compassion you rescued them. 29 You warned them so they might turn back to your law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commands. They sinned against your decrees which give life to anyone who obeys them. They gave the stubborn shoulder-blade and stiffened their neck and refused to listen. 30 For many years you put up with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 But in your great mercies you did not destroy them completely or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
32 Now therefore, our God—you great, mighty, and awesome God who keep your covenant and steadfast love—do not let all this hardship seem little to you that has come on us, on our kings, on our leaders, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our ancestors, and on all your people from the days of the kings of Assyria until today. 33 You are just in everything that has come on us, for you have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law, nor paid attention to your commandments or your laws by which you warned them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, while they enjoyed your great goodness to them, in the large and productive land you set before them, they did not serve you or turn away from their evil deeds. 36 Now we are slaves in the land you gave our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, and behold, we are slaves in it! 37 The rich produce of our land goes to the kings you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please. We are in great distress. 38 Because of all this, we make a firm covenant in writing. On the sealed document are the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests."
1 On the sealed documents were Nehemiah, the governor, son of Hakaliah and Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,
4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,
5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.
9 The Levites were: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the family of Henadad, Kadmiel,
10 and their fellow Levites, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11 Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12 Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13 Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
14 The leaders of the people were: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
27 Malluk, Harim, and Baanah.
28 As for the rest of the people, who were priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands and pledged themselves to the law of God, including their wives, their sons and their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, 29 they joined together with their brothers, their nobles, and bound themselves with both a curse and an oath to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and obey all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord and his decrees and his statutes. 30 We promised that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31 We also promised that if the people of the land bring goods or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will let our fields rest, and we will cancel all debts.
32 We accepted the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God, 33 to provide for the bread of the presence, and for the regular grain offering, the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals and appointed feasts, and for the holy offerings, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, as well as for all the work of the house of our God. 34 We—the priests, the Levites, and the people—cast lots for the wood offering. The lots would select which of our families would bring wood into the house of our God at the appointed times each year, to be burned on the altar of Yahweh our God, as it is written in the law. 35 We promised to bring to the house of Yahweh the firstfruits grown from our soil, and each year the firstfruits from each tree. 36 The firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle—according to what is written in the law—and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks we will bring to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God. 37 We will bring the first of our dough and our grain offerings, and the fruit of every tree and new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God. We will bring to the Levites the tithes from our soil because the Levites collect the tithes in all the towns where we labor. 38 A priest, a descendant of Aaron, must be with the Levites when they receive the tithes. The Levites must bring a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God to the rooms of the storehouse. 39 For the people of Israel and the descendants of Levi are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who are serving, and the gatekeepers, and the singers stay.
We will not neglect the house of our God.
1 The leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, and the other nine remained in other towns. 2 Then the people blessed all those who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
3 These are the provincial officials who lived in Jerusalem. However, in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his own property, including some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants. 4 In Jerusalem lived some of the descendants of Judah and some of the descendants of Benjamin.
The people from Judah included: Athaiah son of Uzziah son of Zechariah son of Amariah son of Shephatiah son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez. 5 There was Maaseiah son of Baruch son of Kol-Hozeh son of Hazaiah son of Adaiah son of Joiarib son of Zechariah, a descendant of Shelah. 6 All the descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468. They were outstanding men.
7 These are the descendants of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam son of Joed son of Pedaiah son of Kolaiah son of Maaseiah son of Ithiel son of Jeshaiah, 8 and those following him, Gabbai and Sallai, 928 men. [1]9 Joel son of Zikri was their overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command over the city.
10 From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jakin, 11 Seraiah son of Hilkiah son of Meshullam son of Zadok son of Meraioth son of Ahitub, the chief official of the house of God, 12 and their associates who did the work for the house, 822 men, along with Adaiah son of Jeroham son of Pelaliah son of Amzi son of Zechariah son of Pashhur son of Malkijah. 13 His brothers were heads of clans, 242 men; and Amashsai son of Azarel son of Ahzai son of Meshillemoth son of Immer, 14 and their brothers, 128 valiant warriors; their overseer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.
15 From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub son of Azrikam son of Hashabiah son of Bunni, 16 and Shabbethai and Jozabad, who were from the leaders of the Levites and were in charge of the outside work of the house of God. 17 There was Mattaniah son of Mika son of Zabdi, a descendant of Asaph, who was the director who began the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers, and Abda son of Shammua son of Galal son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city numbered 284.
19 The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, 172 men.
20 The remainder of Israel and of the priests and the Levites were in all the towns of Judah. Everyone lived on his own inherited property. 21 The temple workers lived in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.
22 The chief officer over the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani son of Hashabiah son of Mattaniah son of Mika, of the descendants of Asaph, singers over the work in the house of God. 23 They were under orders from the king, and firm orders were given for the singers as every day required. 24 Then Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah son of Judah, was at the king's side in all matters concerning the people.
25 As for the villages and their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath Arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, 27 Hazar Shual, and Beersheba and its villages. 28 Some of the people of Judah lived in Ziklag, Mekonah and its villages, 29 En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, and in Lachish its fields and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom. 31 The descendants of the Benjamites settled in Geba, Mikmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, Ono, and Ge Harashim. [2]36 Some of the Levites who lived in Judah were assigned to the people of Benjamin.
1 These were the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluk, Hattush,
3 Shekaniah, Rehum, and Meremoth.
4 There were Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Moadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and their associates in the days of Jeshua.
8 The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was in charge of the thanksgiving songs, along with his associates. 9 Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood opposite them during the service. 10 Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.
12 In the days of Joiakim these were the priests, the leaders of the families: Meraiah was the leader of Seraiah, Hananiah was the leader of Jeremiah,
13 Meshullam was the leader of Ezra, Jehohanan was the leader of Amariah,
14 Jonathan was the leader of Malluk, and Joseph was the leader of Shebaniah. [1]
15 Adna was the leader of Harim, Helkai the leader of Meremoth,
16 Zechariah was the leader of Iddo, Meshullam was the leader of Ginnethon, and
17 Zikri was the leader of Abijah; Piltai was the leader of Miniamin and Moadiah.
18 Shammua was the leader of Bilgah, Jehonathan was the leader of Shemaiah,
19 Mattenai was the leader of Joiarib, Uzzi was the leader of Jedaiah,
20 Kallai was the leader of Sallu, Eber was the leader of Amok,
21 Hashabiah was the leader of Hilkiah, and Nethanel was the leader of Jedaiah.
22 In the days of Eliashib, the Levites Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua were recorded as the heads of families, and the priests were recorded during the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The descendants of Levi, their leaders of families were recorded in the book of the annals up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24 The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their associates, who stood opposite them to give praise and to give thanks, responding section by section, in obedience to the command of David, the man of God. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storerooms by the gates. 26 They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.
27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the people sought out the Levites wherever they lived, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with joy, with thanksgivings and singing with cymbals, lutes, and harps. 28 The fellowship of singers gathered together from the district around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites. 29 They also came from Beth Gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 The priests and the Levites purified themselves, and then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 Then I had the leaders of Judah go up to the top of the wall, and I appointed two large choirs who gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall toward the Dung Gate. 32 Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them, 33 and after them went Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, 35 and some of the priests' sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zakkur son of Asaph. 36 There also were Zechariah's relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe was in front of them. 37 By the Fountain Gate they went straight up on the stairs of the city of David, by the stairway to the wall above David's palace, to the Water Gate on the east.
38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went in the other direction. I followed them on the wall with half the people, above the Tower of Ovens, to the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate, and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks took their place in the house of God, and I also took my place with half of the officials with me. 41 Then the priests took their place: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with the trumpets, 42 and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer, and the singers made themselves heard and Jezrahiah was their leader. 43 They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. Also the women and the children rejoiced. So the joy of Jerusalem could be heard far away.
44 On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites. Each was assigned to work the fields near the towns. For Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who were standing before them. 45 They performed the service of their God, and the service of purification, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers, in keeping with the command of David and of Solomon his son. 46 For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors of singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set aside the consecrated portion that was for the Levites, and the Levites set aside the consecrated portion for the descendants of Aaron.
1 On that day they read in the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. It was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should come into the assembly of God, forever. 2 This was because they had not come to the people of Israel with bread and with water, but they had hired Balaam to curse Israel. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as they heard the law, they separated out from Israel every foreign person.
4 Now before this Eliashib the priest was appointed over the storerooms of the house of our God. He was related to Tobiah. 5 Eliashib prepared for Tobiah a large storeroom, where previously they kept the grain offering, the incense, the articles, and the tithes of the grain, new wine, and the oil, which were commanded to be for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 But in all this time I was not in Jerusalem. For in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. After some time I asked the king for permission to leave, 7 and I returned to Jerusalem. I understood the evil that Eliashib had done by giving Tobiah a storeroom in the courts of the house of God. 8 This was very displeasing to me and I threw all Tobiah's household articles out of the storeroom. 9 I ordered that they purify the storerooms, and I put back in them the articles of the house of God, the grain offerings, and the incense.
10 I learned that the Levites' portions had not been given to them, and they had run away, each to his own field, the Levites and the singers who did the work. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, "Why is the house of God neglected?" I gathered them together and stationed them at their posts. 12 Then all Judah brought in the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the storehouses. 13 I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and from the Levites, Pedaiah. Next to them was Hanan son of Zakkur son of Mattaniah, for they were counted as trustworthy. Their duties were to distribute the supplies to their associates.
14 Call me to mind, my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out the good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and its services.
15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of heavy loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I warned them against selling food on that day. 16 Men from Tyre living in Jerusalem brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and they sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah and in the city! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah, "What is this evil thing you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers do this? Did not our God bring all this evil on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."
19 As soon as it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. I stationed some of my servants at the gates so no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 The merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them, "Why do you camp outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves, and come and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.
Call me to mind for this also, my God, and have mercy on me because of the covenant loyalty you have toward me.
23 In those days I also saw Jews that had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod. None of them knew how to speak the language of Judah, but only the language of one of the other peoples. 25 I confronted them, and I cursed them, and I hit some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear by God, saying, "You will not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of these women? Among many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, his foreign wives caused him to sin. 27 Should we then listen to you and do all this great evil, and act unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"
28 One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I caused him to flee from my presence.
29 Call them to mind, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and established the duties of the priests and the Levites, each to his own task. 31 I provided for the wood offering at the appointed times and for the firstfruits.
Call me to mind, my God, for good.
1 In the days of Xerxes [1] (this is Xerxes who reigned from India as far as Cush, over 127 provinces), 2 in those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the fortress of Susa. 3 In the third year of his reign, he gave a feast to all his officials and his servants. The army of Persia and Media, the noblemen, and governors of the provinces were in his presence. 4 He displayed the wealth of the splendor of his kingdom and the honor of the glory of his greatness for many days, for 180 days. 5 When these days were completed, the king gave a feast lasting seven days. It was for all the people in the fortress of Susa, from the greatest to the least significant. It was held in the courtyard of the garden of the king's palace. 6 The courtyard of the garden was decorated with curtains of white cotton and violet, with cords of fine linen and purple, hung on silver rings from pillars of marble. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored paving stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden cups. Each cup was unique and there was much royal wine that came because of the king's generosity. 8 The drinking was carried out in keeping with the decree, "There must be no compulsion," for in this way the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do according to the desire of each man.
9 Also, Queen Vashti gave a feast for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. 10 On the seventh day, when the king's heart was feeling happy because of the wine, he told Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Karkas (the seven officials who served before him), 11 to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for her features were stunning. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that had been brought to her by the officials. Then the king became very angry; his rage burned within him.
13 So the king conferred with the men who were known to be wise, who understood the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were expert in law and judgment). 14 Now the ones close to him were Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memukan, seven princes of Persia and Media. They had access to the king, and they held the highest offices within the kingdom. 15 "In compliance with the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti because she did not obey the command of King Xerxes, which was brought to her by the officials?" 16 Memukan said in the presence of the king and the officials, "Not only against the king has Vashti the queen done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the matter of the queen will become known to all women. It will cause them to treat their husbands with contempt. They will say, 'King Xerxes commanded Vashti the queen to be brought before him, but she refused.' 18 Before the end of this very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the matter of the queen will say the same thing to all the king's officials. There will be much contempt and anger. 19 If it pleases the king, let a royal decree be sent out from him, and let it be written in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come before him. Let the king give her position as queen to another who is better than she. 20 When the king's decree is proclaimed throughout all his vast kingdom, all the wives will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least significant." 21 The king and his princes were pleased with this advice, and the king did as Memukan proposed. 22 He sent out letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own writing, and to each people in their own language. He ordered that every man should be master of his own household. This decree was given in the language of each people in the empire.
1 After these things, when the anger of King Xerxes subsided, he thought about Vashti and what she had done. He also thought about the decree that he had made against her. 2 Then the king's young men who served him said, "Let a search be made on the king's behalf for beautiful young virgins. 3 Let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom, to gather together all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in the fortress in Susa. Let them be put under the care of Hegai, the king's official, who is in charge of the women, and let him give them their cosmetics. 4 Let the young girl who pleases the king become queen in the place of Vashti." This advice pleased the king, and he did so.
5 There was a certain Jew in the fortress of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, who was a Benjamite. 6 He had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the exiles along with those who had been taken into exile with Jehoiachin, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonia took into exile. 7 He was caring for Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter, because she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely in appearance. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
8 When the king's order and decree were proclaimed, many young women were brought to the fortress of Susa. They were put under Hegai's care. Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put under the care of Hegai, the overseer of the women. 9 The young girl pleased him, and she found favor with him. Immediately he provided her with cosmetics and her portion of food. He assigned to her seven servant girls from the king's palace, and he moved her and the servant girls to the best place in the house of the women. 10 Esther had not told anyone who her people or relatives were, for Mordecai had instructed her not to tell. 11 Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the courtyard outside the house of the women, to learn about Esther's welfare, and about what would be done with her.
12 When the turn came for each girl to go to King Xerxes—after she had obeyed the regulations for the women for twelve months, for this was how the time of their beauty treatments was completed: six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics— 13 when a young woman went to the king, whatever she desired was given to her from the house of the women, for her to take to the palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second house of the women, and to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's official, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king again unless he had taken great pleasure in her and called for her by name. 15 Now when the time came for Esther (daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter) to go in to the king, she did not ask for anything but what Hegai the king's official, who was in charge of the women, suggested. Now Esther received the favor of all who saw her.
16 Esther was taken to King Xerxes into the royal residence on the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women and she received favor and kindness before him, more than all the other virgins. So he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 The king gave a great feast for all his officials and his servants, "Esther's feast," and he granted relief from taxation to the provinces. He also gave gifts with royal generosity.
19 Now when the virgins had been gathered together a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. 20 Esther had not yet told anyone about her relatives or her people, as Mordecai had instructed her. She continued to follow Mordecai's advice, as she had done when she was raised by him. 21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, two of the king's officials, Bigthana and Teresh, who guarded the doorway, became angry and sought to do harm to King Xerxes. 22 When the matter was made known to Mordecai, he told Queen Esther, and Esther spoke to the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 The report was investigated and confirmed, and both the men were hanged from a gallows. This account was written, in the presence of the king, in the book of the events of his reign.
1 After these things, King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and placed his seat of authority above all the officials who were with him. 2 All the king's servants who were at the king's gate knelt down and bowed down to Haman, as the king had ordered them to do. But Mordecai did not kneel or bow down. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the king's command?" 4 They spoke with him day after day, but he refused to comply with their demands. So they spoke with Haman to see if the matter about Mordecai would remain like that, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not kneel and show him respect, Haman was filled with rage. 6 He had contempt for the idea of killing only Mordecai, for the king's servants had told him who Mordecai's people were. Haman sought to exterminate all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were in the entire kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In the first month (which is the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year of King Xerxes, the Pur—that is the lot—was thrown before Haman, to select a day and month. They cast the lot over and over until the lot fell on the twelfth month (which is the month of Adar). 8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, "There is a certain people scattered and distributed among all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so it is not suitable for the king to let them stay. 9 If it is pleasing to the king, give a command to kill them, and I will weigh out ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who are in charge of the king's business, for them to put it into the king's treasury." 10 Then the king took the signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said to Haman, "I will see that the money is given back to you and your people. You will do with it whatever you wish."
12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree containing all that Haman had commanded was written to the king's provincial governors, those who were over all the provinces, to the governors of all the various peoples, and to the officials of all the people, to every province in their own writing, and to every people in their own language. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and was sealed with his ring. 13 Letters were delivered by the hand of couriers to all the king's provinces, to annihilate, kill, and destroy all Jews, from young to old, children and women, in one day—on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (which is the month of Adar)—and to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the letter was made law in every province. In every province it was made known to all the people that they should prepare for this day. 15 The couriers went out and hurried to distribute the king's order. The decree was also distributed within the fortress of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the middle of the city, and cried out with a loud and a bitter cry. 2 He went up only as far as the king's gate, because no one was allowed to go through it clothed in sackcloth. 3 In every province, wherever the king's command and decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing. Many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther's young women and her servants came and told her, the queen was in great distress. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai (so he could take off his sackcloth), but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathak, one of the king's officials who had been assigned to serve her. She ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what had happened and what it meant. 6 So Hathak went to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king's gate. 7 Mordecai reported to him all that had happened to him, and the total amount of the silver that Haman had promised to weigh out and put into the king's treasuries in order to put the Jews to death. 8 He also gave him a copy of the decree that was issued in Susa for the Jews' destruction. He did this so that Hathak could show it to Esther, and that he should make it known to her and give her a solemn command to go to the king to beg for his favor, and to plead with him on behalf of her people.
9 So Hathak went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathak and ordered him to go back to Mordecai. 11 She said, "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner courtyard without being summoned, there is only one law: That he must be put to death—except for anyone to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. I have not been called to come to the king these thirty days." 12 So Hathak reported Esther's words to Mordecai.
13 Mordecai sent back this message to Esther: "You must not think that in the king's palace, you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 If you remain silent at this time, relief and rescue will rise up for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Who knows whether you have come to this royal position for such a time as this?" 15 Then Esther sent this message to Mordecai, 16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who live in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My young girls and I will fast in the same way. Then I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." 17 Mordecai went and did all that Esther had ordered him to do.
1 After three days, Esther put on her royal clothes and went to stand in the courtyard of the king's palace, in front of the king's house. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance to the house. 2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the courtyard, she received favor in his eyes. He held out to her the golden scepter in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 Then the king said to her, "What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? Up to half of my kingdom, it will be given to you." 4 Esther said, "If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for him."
5 Then the king said, "Bring Haman quickly, to do what Esther has said." So the king and Haman went to the feast that Esther had prepared. 6 When the wine was being served at the feast, the king said to Esther, "What is your petition? It will be granted you. What is your request? Up to half of the kingdom, it will be granted." 7 Esther answered, "My petition and my request is this, 8 if I have found favor in the eyes of the king and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to honor my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them tomorrow and I will answer the king's question."
9 Haman went out that day joyful and glad at heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king's gate, that Mordecai neither rose up nor trembled before him with any fear, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went to his own house. He sent for his friends and gathered them together, with Zeresh his wife. 11 Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his many sons, all the promotions by which the king honored him, and how he had advanced above all the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Haman said, "Queen Esther invited no one else but me to come with the king to the feast she prepared. Even tomorrow I am again invited by her along with the king. 13 But all this is worth nothing to me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." 14 Then Zeresh his wife said to Haman and all his friends, "Let them make a gallows fifty cubits high. In the morning speak to the king for them to hang Mordecai on it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast." This pleased Haman and he had the gallows constructed.
1 That night the king could not sleep. He commanded servants to bring the book of the records of the events of his reign, and they were being read aloud to the king. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officials who guarded the entrance, who had tried to harm King Xerxes. 3 The king asked, "What great honor has been given to Mordecai for doing this?" Then the king's young men who served him said, "Nothing was done for him." 4 The king said, "Who is in the courtyard?" Now Haman had entered the outer courtyard of the king's house to speak to him about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he set up for him. 5 The king's servants said to him, "Haman is standing in the courtyard." The king said, "Let him come in." 6 When Haman entered, the king said to him, "What should be done for the man whom the king takes pleasure in honoring?" Now Haman said in his heart, "Whom would the king take pleasure in honoring more than me?" 7 Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king takes pleasure in honoring, 8 let royal robes be brought, robes that the king has worn, and a horse that the king has ridden and on whose head is the royal crest. 9 Then let the robes and the horse be given to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them clothe the man whom the king takes pleasure in honoring, and let them lead him on the horse through the city streets. Let them proclaim before him, 'This is what is done to the one whom the king takes pleasure in honoring!'"
10 Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Do not fail in a single matter of what you have said." 11 Then Haman took the robe and the horse. He dressed Mordecai and led him on the horse through the city streets. He proclaimed before him, "This is what is done for a man whom the king takes pleasure in honoring!" 12 Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning, with his head covered. 13 Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that happened to him. Then his men who were known for their wisdom, and Zeresh his wife, said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is Jewish, you will not overcome him, but you will certainly fall before him." 14 While they were talking with him, the king's officials arrived. They hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.
1 So the king and Haman went to feast with Queen Esther. 2 On this second day, during the banquet of wine, the king said to Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you. What is your request? Up to half of the kingdom, and it will be granted." 3 Then Queen Esther replied, "If I have found favor in your eyes, king, and if it pleases you, let my life be given to me—this is my petition, and I request this also for my people. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. If we had only been sold into slavery, as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, for no such distress as this would justify disturbing the king." 5 Then King Xerxes said to Esther the queen, "Who is he? Where is this person to be found who has filled his heart to do such a thing?" 6 Esther said, "The adversary, that enemy, is this evil Haman!" Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7 The king got up in a rage from the wine-drinking at the feast and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther. He saw that disaster was being decided against him by the king. 8 Then the king returned from the palace garden into the room where the banquet of wine had been. Haman had just fallen on the couch where Esther was. The king said, "Will he assault the queen in my presence in my own house?" As soon as this sentence came out of the king's mouth, the servants covered Haman's face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the officials who served the king, said, "A gallows fifty cubits tall stands beside Haman's house. He set it up for Mordecai, the one who spoke up to protect the king." The king said, "Hang him on it." 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's rage died down.
1 On that day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, and Mordecai began to serve before the king, for Esther told the king how Mordecai was related to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman's estate.
3 Then Esther spoke again to the king. She lay facedown on the ground and wept as she pleaded with him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, to the scheme that he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, she arose and stood before the king. 5 She said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his eyes, if the thing seems proper before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let a decree be written to revoke the letters written by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the letters that he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces. 6 For how could I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How could I endure watching the destruction of my relatives?" 7 King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Look, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he was going to attack the Jews. 8 Write another decree for the Jews in the name of the king and seal it with the king's ring. For the decree that has already been written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked."
9 Then the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the month. A decree was written containing all that Mordecai was commanding concerning the Jews. It was written to the provincial governors, the governors and officials of the provinces that were located from India to Cush, 127 provinces, to every province written in their own writing, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing and language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the king's signet ring. He sent the letters by couriers riding on horses, warhorses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud. 11 The king gave to the Jews who were in every city permission to gather together and to make a stand to protect their lives: To annihiliate, to kill, and to destroy any armed force from any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, or to plunder their possessions. 12 This was to be in effect in all the provinces of King Xerxes, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the decree was to be issued as a law in every province and publicly displayed to all the peoples. The Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. 14 So the couriers rode on the royal horses that were used in the king's service. They went without delay. The king's decree was also issued from the palace in Susa.
15 Then Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal clothes of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor. 17 In every province and in every city, wherever the king's word and his decree reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. Many from among the variety of peoples of the land became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them.
1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king's law and decree were about to be carried out, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, it was reversed. The Jews gained power over those who hated them. 2 The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, to lay hands on those who tried to bring disaster on them. No one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples. 3 All the officials of the provinces, the provincial governors, the governors, and the king's administrators, helped the Jews because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai was becoming great. 5 The Jews attacked their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the fortress of Susa itself the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, Vaizatha; 10 they killed the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder.
11 That day the number of those killed in the fortress of Susa, was reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed five hundred men in the fortress of Susa, including the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be granted you. What is your request? It will be granted to you." 13 Esther said, "If it pleases the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to carry out this day's decree tomorrow also, and let the bodies of Haman's ten sons be hanged on gallows." 14 So the king commanded that this be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. 15 The Jews who were in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and killed three hundred more men in Susa, but laid no hands on the plunder. 16 The rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces came together to defend their lives, and they got relief from their enemies and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not lay their hands on the valuables of those they killed.
17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. On the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness. 18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled together on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days. On the fifteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 19 That is why the Jews of the villages, who make their homes in the rural towns, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of gladness and feasting, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.
20 Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, 21 obligating them to keep the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month Adar every year. 22 These were the days when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and the month when their sorrow turned to joy, and mourning into a day of celebration. They were to make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending gifts of food to one another, and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews continued what they had begun to do, what Mordecai had written to them. 24 At that time Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and he threw Pur (that is, he threw lots), to trouble and destroy them. 25 But when the matter came before the king, he gave orders by letters that the wicked plan Haman developed against the Jews should come back on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Because of everything that was written in this letter, and everything that they had seen and that had happened to them, 27 the Jews accepted a new custom and duty. This custom would be for themselves, their descendants, and everyone who joined them. It would be that they would celebrate these two days every year. They would celebrate them in a certain way and at the same time each year. 28 These days were to be remembered and celebrated in every generation, every family, every province, and every city. These days of Purim should never fail from among the Jews, and their memory should never come to an end for their descendants.
29 Queen Esther daughter of Abihail and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority and confirmed this second letter about Purim. 30 Letters were sent to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes, wishing the Jews safety and truth. 31 These letters confirmed the days of Purim at their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated the Jews. The Jews accepted this obligation for themselves and their descendants, just as also they accepted times of fasting and lamenting. 32 The command of Esther confirmed these regulations regarding Purim, and it was written in the book.
1 Then King Xerxes imposed a tax on the land and on the coastlands along the sea. 2 All the achievements of his power and might, together with the full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him, they are written in the book of the events of the reigns of the kings of Media and Persia. 3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes. He was great among the Jews and shown favor by his many Jewish brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and he spoke for the peace of all his people.