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Song of Solomon

⁹I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of

1Solomon’s Song of Songs.

²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth- for your love is more delightful than wine.

³Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you!

⁴Take me away with you-let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you ; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!

⁵Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon.

⁶Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected.

⁷Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?

⁸If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.

Pharaoh.

¹⁰Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.

¹¹We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.

¹²While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.

¹³My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.

¹⁴My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.

¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.

¹⁶How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.

¹⁷The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.

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2I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.

²Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.

³Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

⁴He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.

⁵Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.

⁶His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.

⁷Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

⁸Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.

⁹My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

¹⁰My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.

¹¹See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.

¹²Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

¹⁴My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your

voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

¹⁵Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

¹⁶My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.

¹⁷Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.

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3All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.

²I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him.

³The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”

⁴Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me.

⁵Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

⁶Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?

⁷Look! It is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel,

⁸all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night.

⁹King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.

¹⁰Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.

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4How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

²Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.

³Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.

⁴Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance ; on it hang a

thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.

⁵Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies.

⁶Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense.

⁷All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards.

⁹You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

¹¹Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

¹²You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

¹³Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard,

¹⁴nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.

¹⁵You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.

¹⁶Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.

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5I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.

²I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”

³I have taken off my robe- must I put it on again? I have washed my feet- must I soil them again?

⁴My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.

⁵I arose to open for my lover, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock.

⁶I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.

⁷The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen of the walls!

⁸O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you- if you find my lover, what will you tell him? Tell him I am faint with love.

⁹How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so?

¹⁰My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.

¹²His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels.

¹³His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.

¹⁴His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.

¹⁶His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

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6Where has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover turn, that we may look for him with you?

²My lover has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies.

³I am my lover’s and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies.

⁴You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is alone.

⁷Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.

⁸Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number;

⁹but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.

¹⁰Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?

¹¹I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.

¹³Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you! Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim?

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7How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince’s daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of a craftsman’s hands.

²Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.

³Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.

⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.

⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses.

⁶How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!

⁷Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.

⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,

⁹and your mouth like the best wine. May the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.

¹⁰I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.

¹¹Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages.

¹²Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom- there I will give you my love.

¹³The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.

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8If only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother’s breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.

²I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house- she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.

³His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.

⁴Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

⁵Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? Under the apple tree I roused you; there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave you birth.

⁶Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

⁷Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

⁸We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for?

⁹If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

¹⁰I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver.

¹²But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

¹³You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice!

¹⁴Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains.

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Ecclesiastes

¹¹There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to

1The words of the Teacher, son of

David, king in Jerusalem:

²“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

³What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

⁴Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

⁵The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

⁶The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

⁷All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

⁸All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

⁹What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

come will not be remembered by those who follow.

¹²I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men!

¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹⁵What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

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2I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless.

²“Laughter,” I said, “is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?”

³I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly-my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

⁴I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.

⁵I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

⁶I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

⁷I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.

⁸I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man.

⁹I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

¹⁰I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.

My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

¹¹Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

¹²Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done?

¹³I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.

¹⁴The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.

¹⁵Then I thought in my heart, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said in my heart, “This too is meaningless.”

¹⁶For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!

¹⁷So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.

¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have

control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

²⁰So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.

²¹For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.

²²What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?

²³All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.

²⁴A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,

²⁵for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

²⁶To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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3There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

²a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What does the worker gain from his toil?

¹⁰I have seen the burden God has laid on men.

¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

¹²I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.

¹³That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

¹⁵Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

¹⁶And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment- wickedness was there, in the place of justice-wickedness was there.

¹⁷I thought in my heart, “God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.”

¹⁸I also thought, “As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.

¹⁹Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.

²⁰All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

²¹Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

²²So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

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4Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed- and they have no comforter;

power was on the side of their oppressors- and they have no comforter.

²And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.

³But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

⁴And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵The fool folds his hands and ruins himself.

⁶Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless- a miserable business!

⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:

¹⁰If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

¹³Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning.

¹⁴The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.

¹⁶There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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5Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

²Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

³As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.

⁵It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

⁶Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

⁸If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.

⁹The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

¹⁰Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

¹¹As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?

¹²The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.

¹³I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

¹⁴or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.

¹⁵Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.

¹⁶This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind?

¹⁷All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.

¹⁸Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him-for this is his lot.

¹⁹Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of God.

²⁰He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

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6I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:

²God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger

enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

³A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

⁴It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded.

⁵Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man-

⁶even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

⁷All man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.

⁸What advantage has a wise man over a fool? What does a poor man gain by knowing how to conduct himself before others?

⁹Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹⁰Whatever exists has already been named, and what man is has been known; no man can contend with one who is stronger than he.

¹¹The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?

¹²For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?

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7A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

²It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁵It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

⁶Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

⁹Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.

¹²Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

¹³Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?

¹⁴When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.

¹⁵In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

¹⁶Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise- why destroy yourself?

¹⁷Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool- why die before your time?

¹⁸It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes .

¹⁹Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

²¹Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-

²²for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise”- but this was beyond me.

²⁴Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound- who can discover it?

²⁵So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

²⁶I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.

²⁷“Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered: “Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-

²⁸while I was still searching but not finding- I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.

²⁹This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”

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8Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hard appearance.

²Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.

³Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

⁴Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

⁶For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.

⁷Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?

⁸No man has power over the wind to contain it ; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

⁹All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.

¹⁰Then too, I saw the wicked buried- those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the

city where they did this. This too is meaningless.

¹¹When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.

¹²Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.

¹³Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

¹⁴There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.

¹⁵So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth-his eyes not seeing sleep day or night-

¹⁷then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.

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9So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.

²All share a common destiny-the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.

³This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.

⁴Anyone who is among the living has hope -even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.

⁷Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.

⁸Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.

⁹Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun- all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

¹¹I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

¹²Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.

¹³I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:

¹⁴There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it.

¹⁵Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.

¹⁶So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

¹⁷The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

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10As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

²The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.

³Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is.

⁴If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

⁶Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones.

⁷I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.

⁸Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

⁹Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.

¹¹If a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

¹²Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

¹³At the beginning his words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness-

¹⁴and the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming- who can tell him what will happen after him?

¹⁵A fool’s work wearies him; he does not know the way to town.

¹⁶Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time- for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

¹⁹A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.

²⁰Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

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11Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

²Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

³If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.

⁴Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

⁶Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

⁷Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

⁸However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless.

⁹Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes

see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

¹⁰So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

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12Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”-

²before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;

³when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;

⁴when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;

⁵when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.

⁶Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well,

⁷and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”

⁹Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.

¹⁰The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-given by one Shepherd.

¹²Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

¹³Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

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2nd Chronicles

⁸Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my

1Solomon son of David established

himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

²Then Solomon spoke to all Israel-to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families-

³and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the Lord ‘s servant had made in the desert.

⁴Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.

⁵But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the Lord ; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there.

⁶Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

father and have made me king in his place.

⁹Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.

¹⁰Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹¹God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king,

¹²therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

¹³Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting. And he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

¹⁵The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

¹⁶Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue – the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.

¹⁷They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

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2Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

²He conscripted seventy thousand men as carriers and eighty thousand as stonecutters in the hills and thirty-six hundred as foremen over them.

³Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in.

⁴Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.

⁵“The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.

⁶But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

⁷“Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled craftsmen, whom my father David provided.

⁸“Send me also cedar, pine and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your men are skilled in cutting timber there. My men will work with yours

⁹to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent.

¹⁰I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”

¹¹Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.”

¹²And Hiram added: “Praise be to the Lord , the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with

intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

¹³“I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill,

¹⁴whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my Lord , David your father.

¹⁵“Now let my Lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised,

¹⁶and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them in rafts by sea down to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷Solomon took a census of all the aliens who were in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600.

¹⁸He assigned 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

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3Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on

the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.

²He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

³The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide (using the cubit of the old standard).

⁴The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits long across the width of the building and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

⁵He paneled the main hall with pine and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs.

⁶He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim.

⁷He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.

⁸He built the Most Holy Place, its length corresponding to the width of the temple-twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.

⁹The gold nails weighed fifty shekels. He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

¹⁰In the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold.

¹¹The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub.

¹²Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub.

¹³The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.

¹⁴He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it.

¹⁵In the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits long, each with a capital on top measuring five cubits.

¹⁶He made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains.

¹⁷He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.

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4He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.

²He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim

to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it.

³Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it-ten to a cubit. The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

⁴The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center.

⁵It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.

⁶He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

⁷He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

⁸He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.

⁹He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze.

¹⁰He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

¹¹He also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

¹²the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl- shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

¹³the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);

¹⁴the stands with their basins;

¹⁵the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

¹⁶the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles. All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze.

¹⁷The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.

¹⁸All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

¹⁹Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;

²⁰the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

²¹the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

²²the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

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5When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated-the silver and gold and all the furnishings-and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

²Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord ‘s covenant from Zion, the City of David.

³And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

⁴When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark,

⁵and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests, who were Levites, carried them up;

⁶and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

⁷The priests then brought the ark of the Lord ‘s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.

⁸The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles.

⁹These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.

¹⁰There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

¹¹The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.

¹²All the Levites who were musicians- Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives-stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.

¹³The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord . Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud,

¹⁴and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

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6Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;

²I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”

³While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.

⁴Then he said: “Praise be to the Lord , the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said,

⁵‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be the leader over my people Israel.

⁶But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

⁷“My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

⁸But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart.

⁹Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is

your own flesh and blood-he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

¹⁰“The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

¹¹There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

¹²Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

¹³Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.

¹⁴He said: “O Lord , God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth-you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

¹⁵You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it-as it is today.

¹⁶“Now Lord , God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if

only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’

¹⁷And now, O Lord , God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.

¹⁸“But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

¹⁹Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.

²⁰May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.

²¹Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.

²²“When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,

²³then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.

²⁴“When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple,

²⁵then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their fathers.

²⁶“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them,

²⁷then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

²⁸“When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come,

²⁹and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel-each one aware of his afflictions and pains, and spreading out his hands toward this temple-

³⁰then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men),

³¹so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.

³²“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm-when he comes and prays toward this temple,

³³then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

³⁴“When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,

³⁵then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

³⁶“When they sin against you-for there is no one who does not sin-and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;

³⁷and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’;

³⁸and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their

captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name;

³⁹then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.

⁴⁰“Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

⁴¹“Now arise, O Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness.

⁴²O Lord God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”

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7When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

²The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it.

³When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord , saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

⁴Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord .

⁵And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.

⁶The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the Lord ‘s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

⁷Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord , and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

⁸So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him-a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt.

⁹On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more.

¹⁰On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

¹¹When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace,

¹²the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,

¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

¹⁶I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

¹⁷“As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws,

¹⁸I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’

¹⁹“But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them,

²⁰then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

²¹And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’

²²People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord , the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them-that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ “

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8At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,

²Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram had given him, and settled Israelites in them.

³Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it.

⁴He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.

⁵He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars,

⁶as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses -whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

⁷All the people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites),

⁸that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed-these Solomon conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day.

⁹But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers.

¹⁰They were also King Solomon’s chief officials-two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

¹¹Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

¹²On the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord ,

¹³according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons and the three annual feasts-the Feast of Unleavened

Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles.

¹⁴In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered.

¹⁵They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

¹⁶All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

¹⁷Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom.

¹⁸And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers, men who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

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9When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan-with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones-she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind.

²Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.

³When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built,

⁴the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord , she was overwhelmed.

⁵She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.

⁶But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.

⁷How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

⁸Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

⁹Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰(The men of Hiram and the men of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones.

¹¹The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

¹²King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

¹³The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,

¹⁴not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of hammered gold went into each shield.

¹⁶He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred bekas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.

¹⁸The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On

both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.

¹⁹Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.

²⁰All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day.

²¹The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram’s men. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²²King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.

²³All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

²⁴Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift-articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁵Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

²⁶He ruled over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.

²⁷The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

²⁹As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?

³⁰Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

³¹Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

10Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.

²When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt.

³So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:

⁴“Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

⁶Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

⁸But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.

⁹He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him replied, “Tell the people who have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter’-tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.

¹¹My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ “

¹²Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.”

¹³The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders,

¹⁴he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

¹⁶When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!” So all the Israelites went home.

¹⁷But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.

¹⁹So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

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11When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin-a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men-to make war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.

²But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God:

³“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin,

⁴‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’ ” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.

⁵Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah:

⁶Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah,

¹⁰Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin.

¹¹He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine.

¹²He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him.

¹⁴The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property, and came to

Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord .

¹⁵And he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made.

¹⁶Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord , the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord , the God of their fathers.

¹⁷They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, walking in the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

¹⁸Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab.

¹⁹She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham.

²⁰Then he married Maacah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith.

²¹Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²²Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah to be the chief prince among his brothers, in order to make him king.

²³He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them.

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12After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord .

²Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord , Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.

³With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt,

⁴he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’ “

⁶The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”

⁷When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but

will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

⁸They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”

⁹When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made.

¹⁰So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

¹¹Whenever the king went to the Lord ‘s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.

¹²Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord ‘s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.

¹³King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.

¹⁴He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord .

¹⁵As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

¹⁶Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.

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13In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah,

²and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah, a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

³Abijah went into battle with a force of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.

⁴Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me!

⁵Don’t you know that the Lord , the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?

⁶Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master.

⁷Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them.

⁸“And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord , which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods.

⁹But didn’t you drive out the priests of the Lord , the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.

¹⁰“As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them.

¹¹Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord . They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him.

¹²God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the Lord , the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

¹³Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was

in front of Judah the ambush was behind them.

¹⁴Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the Lord . The priests blew their trumpets

¹⁵and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.

¹⁷Abijah and his men inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men.

¹⁸The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord , the God of their fathers.

¹⁹Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages.

²⁰Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the Lord struck him down and he died.

²¹But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty- two sons and sixteen daughters.

²²The other events of Abijah’s reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo.

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14And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

²Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.

³He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.

⁴He commanded Judah to seek the Lord , the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands.

⁵He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him.

⁶He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

⁷“Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.

⁹Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.

¹⁰Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord , there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord , you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”

¹²The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,

¹³and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.

¹⁴They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen upon them. They plundered all these villages, since there was much booty there.

¹⁵They also attacked the camps of the herdsmen and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

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15The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded.

²He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

³For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.

⁴But in their distress they turned to the Lord , the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.

⁵In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil.

⁶One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress.

⁷But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

⁸When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord ‘s temple.

⁹Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

¹¹At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back.

¹²They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord , the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.

¹³All who would not seek the Lord , the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

¹⁴They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns.

¹⁵All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.

¹⁸He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁹There was no more war until the thirty- fifth year of Asa’s reign.

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16In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

²Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord ‘s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben- Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.

³“Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

⁴Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali.

⁵When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work.

⁶Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.

⁷At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army

of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

⁸Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen ? Yet when you relied on the Lord , he delivered them into your hand.

⁹For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

¹⁰Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

¹¹The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

¹²In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord , but only from the physicians.

¹³Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers.

¹⁴They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.

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17Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel.

²He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

³The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He did not consult the Baals

⁴but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.

⁵The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor.

⁶His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord ; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah.

⁸With them were certain Levites- Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah-and the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

⁹They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the

Lord ; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.

¹²Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah

¹³and had large supplies in the towns of Judah. He also kept experienced fighting men in Jerusalem.

¹⁴Their enrollment by families was as follows: From Judah, commanders of units of 1,000: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 fighting men;

¹⁵next, Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000;

¹⁶next, Amasiah son of Zicri, who volunteered himself for the service of the Lord , with 200,000.

¹⁷From Benjamin: Eliada, a valiant soldier, with 200,000 men armed with bows and shields;

¹⁸next, Jehozabad, with 180,000 men armed for battle.

¹⁹These were the men who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

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18Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.

²Some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead.

³Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.”

⁴But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord .”

⁵So the king of Israel brought together the prophets-four hundred men-and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” “Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”

⁶But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”

⁷The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord , but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king should not say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.

⁸So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”

⁹Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance to the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.

¹⁰Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’ “

¹¹All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

¹²The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”

¹³But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”

¹⁴When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” “Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be given into your hand.”

¹⁵The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord ?”

¹⁶Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’ “

¹⁷The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”

¹⁸Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing on his right and on his left.

¹⁹And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that.

²⁰Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ” ‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.

²¹” ‘I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. ” ‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord . ‘Go and do it.’

²²“So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

²³Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the Lord

go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.

²⁴Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”

²⁵The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son,

²⁶and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’ “

²⁷Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”

²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.

²⁹The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

³⁰Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”

³¹When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him,

³²for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.

³³But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.”

³⁴All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.

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19When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem,

²Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord ? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you.

³There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.”

⁴Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord , the God of their fathers.

⁵He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.

⁶He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for

man but for the Lord , who is with you whenever you give a verdict.

⁷Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

⁸In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.

⁹He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord .

¹⁰In every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities-whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or ordinances-you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord ; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not sin.

¹¹“Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord , and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the Lord be with those who do well.”

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20After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat.

²Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).

³Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord , and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

⁴The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord ; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard

⁶and said: “O Lord , God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.

⁷O 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 your friend?

⁸They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying,

⁹‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory

you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them.

¹¹See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.

¹²O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

¹³All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord .

¹⁴Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

¹⁶Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.

¹⁷You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to

face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ “

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord .

¹⁹Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord , the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

²⁰Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”

²¹After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord , for his love endures forever.”

²²As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

²³The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and

looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

²⁵So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value-more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

²⁶On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the Lord . This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

²⁷Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lutes and trumpets.

²⁹The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

³¹So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

³²He walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord .

³³The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

³⁴The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was guilty of wickedness.

³⁶He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber,

³⁷Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.

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21Then Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And Jehoram his son succeeded him as king.

²Jehoram’s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

³Their father had given them many gifts of silver and gold and articles of value, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he had given the kingdom to Jehoram because he was his firstborn son.

⁴When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father’s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the princes of Israel.

⁵Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.

⁶He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord .

⁷Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever.

⁸In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.

⁹So Jehoram went there with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night.

¹⁰To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord , the God of his fathers.

¹¹He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.

¹²Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet, which said: “This is what the Lord , the God of your father David, says: ‘You have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah.

¹³But you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did. You have also murdered your own brothers, members of your father’s house, men who were better than you.

¹⁴So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow.

¹⁵You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.’ “

¹⁶The Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites.

¹⁷They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king’s palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah, the youngest.

¹⁸After all this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels.

¹⁹In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain. His people made no fire in his honor, as they had for his fathers.

²⁰Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

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22The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in his place, since the raiders, who came with the Arabs into the camp, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

²Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

³He too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong.

⁴He did evil in the eyes of the Lord , as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father’s death they became his advisers, to his undoing.

⁵He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of

Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram;

⁶so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded.

⁷Through Ahaziah’s visit to Joram, God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

⁸While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them.

⁹He then went in search of Ahaziah, and his men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He was a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” So there was no one in the house of Ahaziah powerful enough to retain the kingdom.

¹⁰When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah.

¹¹But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a

bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him.

¹²He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

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23In the seventh year Jehoiada showed his strength. He made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri.

²They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites and the heads of Israelite families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem,

³the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David.

⁴Now this is what you are to do: A third of you priests and Levites who are going on duty on the Sabbath are to keep watch at the doors,

⁵a third of you at the royal palace and a third at the Foundation Gate, and all the other men are to be in the courtyards of the temple of the Lord .

⁶No one is to enter the temple of the Lord except the priests and Levites on duty; they may enter because they are

consecrated, but all the other men are to guard what the Lord has assigned to them.

⁷The Levites are to station themselves around the king, each man with his weapons in his hand. Anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

⁸The Levites and all the men of Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men-those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty-for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions.

⁹Then he gave the commanders of units of a hundred the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of God.

¹⁰He stationed all the men, each with his weapon in his hand, around the king- near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

¹¹Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went to them at the temple of the Lord .

¹³She looked, and there was the king, standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers with musical instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her robes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁴Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops, and said to them: “Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not put her to death at the temple of the Lord .”

¹⁵So they seized her as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.

¹⁶Jehoiada then made a covenant that he and the people and the king would be the Lord ‘s people.

¹⁷All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

¹⁸Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the priests, who were Levites, to whom David had made assignments in the temple, to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as David had ordered.

¹⁹He also stationed doorkeepers at the gates of the Lord ‘s temple so that no

one who was in any way unclean might enter.

²⁰He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the temple of the Lord . They went into the palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the royal throne,

²¹and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword.

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24Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.

²Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest.

³Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

⁴Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord .

⁵He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, “Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites did not act at once.

⁶Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the

tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?”

⁷Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.

⁸At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord .

⁹A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the desert.

¹⁰All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full.

¹¹Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king’s officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money.

¹²The king and Jehoiada gave it to the men who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord . They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord ‘s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.

¹³The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of

God according to its original design and reinforced it.

¹⁴When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord ‘s temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord .

¹⁵Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty.

¹⁶He was buried with the kings in the City of David, because of the good he had done in Israel for God and his temple.

¹⁷After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them.

¹⁸They abandoned the temple of the Lord , the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁹Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.

²⁰Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord ‘s commands? You will

not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord , he has forsaken you.’ “

²¹But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord ‘s temple.

²²King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.”

²³At the turn of the year, the army of Aram marched against Joash; it invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus.

²⁴Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the Lord delivered into their hands a much larger army. Because Judah had forsaken the Lord , the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.

²⁵When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶Those who conspired against him were Zabad, son of Shimeath an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith a Moabite woman.

²⁷The account of his sons, the many prophecies about him, and the record of the restoration of the temple of God are

written in the annotations on the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.

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25Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin ; she was from Jerusalem.

²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord , but not wholeheartedly.

³After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king.

⁴Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sins.”

⁵Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men ready for military service, able to handle the spear and shield.

⁶He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

⁷But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel-not with any of the people of Ephraim.

⁸Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

⁹Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?” The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”

¹⁰So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage.

¹¹Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir.

¹²The army of Judah also captured ten thousand men alive, took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

¹³Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had sent back and had not allowed to take part in the war raided Judean towns from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed three thousand people and carried off great quantities of plunder.

¹⁴When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed

down to them and burned sacrifices to them.

¹⁵The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why do you consult this people’s gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you an adviser to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

¹⁷After Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, he sent this challenge to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel: “Come, meet me face to face.”

¹⁸But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot.

¹⁹You say to yourself that you have defeated Edom, and now you are arrogant and proud. But stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?”

²⁰Amaziah, however, would not listen, for God so worked that he might hand them over to Jehoash , because they sought the gods of Edom.

²¹So Jehoash king of Israel attacked. He and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other at Beth Shemesh in Judah.

²²Judah was routed by Israel, and every man fled to his home.

²³Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate-a section about six hundred feet long.

²⁴He took all the gold and silver and all the articles found in the temple of God that had been in the care of Obed-Edom, together with the palace treasures and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.

²⁶As for the other events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord , they conspired against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.

²⁸He was brought back by horse and was buried with his fathers in the City of Judah.

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26Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.

²He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his fathers.

³Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.

⁴He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord , just as his father Amaziah had done.

⁵He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord , God gave him success.

⁶He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines.

⁷God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.

⁸The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

⁹Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at

the angle of the wall, and he fortified them.

¹⁰He also built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.

¹¹Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials.

¹²The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600.

¹³Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.

¹⁴Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army.

¹⁵In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.

¹⁶But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁷Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in.

¹⁸They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord . That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

¹⁹Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord ‘s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

²⁰When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

²¹King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord . Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

²²The other events of Uzziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

²³Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field for burial that belonged to the kings, for people said, “He had leprosy.” And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.

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27Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.

²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord , just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the Lord . The people, however, continued their corrupt practices.

³Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the Lord and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel.

⁴He built towns in the Judean hills and forts and towers in the wooded areas.

⁵Jotham made war on the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand cors of barley. The Ammonites brought him the same amount also in the second and third years.

⁶Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.

⁷The other events in Jotham’s reign, including all his wars and the other things he did, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years.

⁹Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.

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28Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord .

²He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made cast idols for worshiping the Baals.

³He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

⁴He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

⁵Therefore the Lord his God handed him over to the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hands of the king of Israel, who inflicted heavy casualties on him.

⁶In one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers in Judah-because Judah had forsaken the Lord , the God of their fathers.

⁷Zicri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, second to the king.

⁸The Israelites took captive from their kinsmen two hundred thousand wives, sons and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder, which they carried back to Samaria.

⁹But a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army when it returned to Samaria. He said to them, “Because the Lord , the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches to heaven.

¹⁰And now you intend to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves. But aren’t you also guilty of sins against the Lord your God?

¹¹Now listen to me! Send back your fellow countrymen you have taken as prisoners, for the Lord ‘s fierce anger rests on you.”

¹²Then some of the leaders in Ephraim- Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai- confronted those who were arriving from the war.

¹³“You must not bring those prisoners here,” they said, “or we will be guilty before the Lord . Do you intend to add to our sin and guilt? For our guilt is already great, and his fierce anger rests on Israel.”

¹⁴So the soldiers gave up the prisoners and plunder in the presence of the officials and all the assembly.

¹⁵The men designated by name took the prisoners, and from the plunder they clothed all who were naked. They provided them with clothes and sandals, food and drink, and healing balm. All those who were weak they put on donkeys. So they took them back to their fellow countrymen at Jericho, the City of Palms, and returned to Samaria.

¹⁶At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help.

¹⁷The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,

¹⁸while the Philistines had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth Shemesh, Aijalon and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah and Gimzo, with their surrounding villages.

¹⁹The Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the Lord .

²⁰Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help.

²¹Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace and from the princes and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.

²²In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord .

²³He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.

²⁴Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and took them away. He shut the doors of the Lord ‘s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.

²⁵In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the Lord , the God of his fathers, to anger.

²⁶The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.

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29Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord , just as his father David had done.

³In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them.

⁴He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side

⁵and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord , the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.

⁶Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord ‘s dwelling place and turned their backs on him.

⁷They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

⁸Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes.

⁹This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.

¹⁰Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord , the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.

¹¹My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.”

¹²Then these Levites set to work: from the Kohathites, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; from the

Merarites, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; from the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;

¹³from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

¹⁴from the descendants of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; from the descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the Lord , as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord .

¹⁶The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord ‘s temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord . The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord . For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord , the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles.

¹⁹We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord ‘s altar.”

²⁰Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord .

²¹They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord .

²²So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.

²³The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.

²⁴The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

²⁵He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets.

²⁶So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.

²⁷Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel.

²⁸The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.

²⁹When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped.

³⁰King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped.

³¹Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord . Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord .” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.

³²The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs-all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord .

³³The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats.

³⁴The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their kinsmen the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been.

³⁵There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished.

³⁶Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.

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30Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord , the God of Israel.

²The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month.

³They had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.

⁴The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly.

⁵They decided to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord , the God of Israel. It had not been celebrated in large numbers according to what was written.

⁶At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the Lord , the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

⁷Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the Lord , the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see.

⁸Do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were; submit to the Lord . Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.

⁹If you return to the Lord , then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and ridiculed them.

¹¹Nevertheless, some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.

¹²Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord .

¹³A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month.

¹⁴They removed the altars in Jerusalem and cleared away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord .

¹⁶Then they took up their regular positions as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood handed to them by the Levites.

¹⁷Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs to the Lord .

¹⁸Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover,

contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord , who is good, pardon everyone

¹⁹who sets his heart on seeking God-the Lord , the God of his fathers-even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”

²⁰And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests sang to the Lord every day, accompanied by the Lord ‘s instruments of praise.

²²Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites, who showed good understanding of the service of the Lord . For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised the Lord , the God of their fathers.

²³The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully.

²⁴Hezekiah king of Judah provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves.

²⁵The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and

all who had assembled from Israel, including the aliens who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah.

²⁶There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

²⁷The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

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31When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.

²Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to divisions-each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites-to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the Lord ‘s dwelling.

³The king contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons and appointed feasts as written in the Law of the Lord .

⁴He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the

priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord .

⁵As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything.

⁶The men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps.

⁷They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.

⁸When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed his people Israel.

⁹Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps;

¹⁰and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord , we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”

¹¹Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord , and this was done.

¹²Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Conaniah, a Levite, was in charge of

these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank.

¹³Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were supervisors under Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God.

¹⁴Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts.

¹⁵Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.

¹⁶In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records-all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.

¹⁷And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.

¹⁸They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.

¹⁹As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farm lands around their towns or in any other towns, men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites.

²⁰This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.

²¹In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.

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32After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.

²When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem,

³he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him.

⁴A large force of men assembled, and they blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said.

⁵Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall

outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.

⁶He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words:

⁷“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.

⁸With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

⁹Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:

¹⁰“This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?

¹¹When Hezekiah says, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,’ he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst.

¹²Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god’s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must

worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it’?

¹³“Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand?

¹⁴Who of all the gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand?

¹⁵Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!”

¹⁶Sennacherib’s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah.

¹⁷The king also wrote letters insulting the Lord , the God of Israel, and saying this against him: “Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.”

¹⁸Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city.

¹⁹They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world-the work of men’s hands.

²⁰King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this.

²¹And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword.

²²So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.

²³Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.

²⁴In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord , who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.

²⁵But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord ‘s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord ‘s wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his

silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables.

²⁸He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks.

²⁹He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.

³⁰It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook.

³¹But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

³²The other events of Hezekiah’s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

³³Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David’s descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

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33Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.

²He did evil in the eyes of the Lord , following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

³He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.

⁴He built altars in the temple of the Lord , of which the Lord had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.”

⁵In both courts of the temple of the Lord , he built altars to all the starry hosts.

⁶He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord , provoking him to anger.

⁷He took the carved image he had made and put it in God’s temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever.

⁸I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses.”

⁹But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they

did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

¹⁰The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.

¹¹So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

¹²In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.

¹³And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

¹⁴Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

¹⁵He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord , as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city.

¹⁶Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord , the God of Israel.

¹⁷The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

¹⁸The other events of Manasseh’s reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord , the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel.

¹⁹His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself-all are written in the records of the seers.

²⁰Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

²¹Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years.

²²He did evil in the eyes of the Lord , as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made.

²³But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord ; Amon increased his guilt.

²⁴Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace.

²⁵Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

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34Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.

²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

³In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images.

⁴Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

⁵He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them,

⁷he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah

son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

⁹They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the doorkeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord ‘s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple.

¹¹They also gave money to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.

¹²The men did the work faithfully. Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites-all who were skilled in playing musical instruments-

¹³had charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and doorkeepers.

¹⁴While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord , Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses.

¹⁵Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord .” He gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁶Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them.

¹⁷They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.”

¹⁸Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.

²⁰He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:

²¹“Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord ‘s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord ; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”

²²Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She

lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.

²³She said to them, “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

²⁴‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people-all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah.

²⁵Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all that their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’

²⁶Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord , ‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:

²⁷Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord .

²⁸Now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’ ” So they took her answer back to the king.

²⁹Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰He went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites- all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord .

³¹The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord -to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.

³²Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

³³Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord , the God of their fathers.

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35Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord ‘s temple.

³He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated

to the Lord : “Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.

⁴Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the directions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

⁵“Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow countrymen, the lay people.

⁶Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your fellow countrymen, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

⁷Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand sheep and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle-all from the king’s own possessions.

⁸His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the administrators of God’s temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.

⁹Also Conaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.

¹⁰The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered.

¹¹The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals.

¹²They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord , as is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.

¹³They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people.

¹⁴After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.

¹⁵The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.

¹⁶So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord , as King Josiah had ordered.

¹⁷The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

¹⁸The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem.

¹⁹This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

²⁰After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle.

²¹But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”

²²Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Neco had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.

²³Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.”

²⁴So they took him out of his chariot, put him in the other chariot he had and

brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

²⁵Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the men and women singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.

²⁶The other events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion, according to what is written in the Law of the Lord –

²⁷all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

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36And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

²Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.

³The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

⁴The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.

⁵Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned

in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God.

⁶Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.

⁷Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his temple there.

⁸The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

⁹Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord .

¹⁰In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord , and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹¹Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.

¹²He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord .

¹³He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and

would not turn to the Lord , the God of Israel.

¹⁴Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord , which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵The Lord , the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.

¹⁶But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

¹⁷He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁸He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord ‘s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials.

¹⁹They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.

²⁰He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.

²¹The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.

²²In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:

²³“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ” ‘The Lord , the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you-may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.’ “

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1st Chronicles

1Adam, Seth, Enosh,

²Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared,

³Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.

⁴The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. The Japhethites

⁵The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.

⁶The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

⁷The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. The Hamites

⁸The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan.

⁹The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

¹⁰Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on earth.

¹¹Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,

¹²Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

¹³Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,

¹⁴Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,

¹⁵Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,

¹⁶Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. The Semites

¹⁷The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. The sons of Aram : Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech.

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

¹⁹Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

²⁰Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

²¹Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

²²Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

²³Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

²⁴Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, ²⁵Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶Serug, Nahor, Terah

²⁷and Abram (that is, Abraham).

²⁸The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. Descendants of Hagar

²⁹These were their descendants: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

³⁰Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,

³¹Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael. Descendants of Keturah

³²The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.

³³The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. Descendants of Sarah

³⁴Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.

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

³⁶The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz; by Timna: Amalek.

³⁷The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. The People of Seir in Edom

³⁸The sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.

³⁹The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.

⁴⁰The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah.

⁴¹The son of Anah: Dishon. The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.

⁴²The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. The sons of Dishan : Uz and Aran. The Rulers of Edom

⁴³These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned : Bela son of Beor, whose city was named Dinhabah.

⁴⁴When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.

⁴⁵When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.

⁴⁶When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.

⁴⁷When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.

⁴⁸When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.

⁴⁹When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king.

⁵⁰When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.

⁵¹Hadad also died. The chiefs of Edom were: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

⁵²Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

⁵³Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,

⁵⁴Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.

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2These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,

²Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

³The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah. These three were born to him by a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord ‘s sight; so the Lord put him to death.

⁴Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.

⁵The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

⁶The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Darda -five in all.

⁷The son of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble on Israel by violating the ban on taking devoted things.

⁸The son of Ethan: Azariah.

⁹The sons born to Hezron were: Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb. From Ram Son of Hezron

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

¹¹Nahshon was the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz,

¹²Boaz the father of Obed and Obed the father of Jesse.

¹³Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; the second son was Abinadab, the third Shimea,

¹⁴the fourth Nethanel, the fifth Raddai,

¹⁵the sixth Ozem and the seventh David.

¹⁶Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abishai, Joab and Asahel.

¹⁷Abigail was the mother of Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite. Caleb Son of Hezron

¹⁸Caleb son of Hezron had children by his wife Azubah (and by Jerioth). These were her sons: Jesher, Shobab and Ardon.

¹⁹When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur.

²⁰Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri the father of Bezalel.

²¹Later, Hezron lay with the daughter of Makir the father of Gilead (he had married her when he was sixty years old), and she bore him Segub.

²²Segub was the father of Jair, who controlled twenty-three towns in Gilead.

²³(But Geshur and Aram captured Havvoth Jair, as well as Kenath with its surrounding settlements-sixty towns.) All these were descendants of Makir the father of Gilead.

²⁴After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah the wife of Hezron bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa. Jerahmeel Son of Hezron

²⁵The sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron: Ram his firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem and Ahijah.

²⁶Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.

²⁷The sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel: Maaz, Jamin and Eker.

²⁸The sons of Onam: Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur.

²⁹Abishur’s wife was named Abihail, who bore him Ahban and Molid.

³⁰The sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children.

³¹The son of Appaim: Ishi, who was the father of Sheshan. Sheshan was the father of Ahlai.

³²The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother: Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children.

³³The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.

³⁴Sheshan had no sons-only daughters. He had an Egyptian servant named Jarha.

³⁵Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant Jarha, and she bore him Attai.

³⁶Attai was the father of Nathan, Nathan the father of Zabad,

³⁷Zabad the father of Ephlal, Ephlal the father of Obed,

³⁸Obed the father of Jehu, Jehu the father of Azariah,

³⁹Azariah the father of Helez, Helez the father of Eleasah,

⁴⁰Eleasah the father of Sismai, Sismai the father of Shallum,

⁴¹Shallum the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah the father of Elishama. The Clans of Caleb

⁴²The sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel: Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and his son Mareshah, who was the father of Hebron.

⁴³The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem and Shema.

⁴⁴Shema was the father of Raham, and Raham the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai.

⁴⁵The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur.

⁴⁶Caleb’s concubine Ephah was the mother of Haran, Moza and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.

⁴⁷The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah and Shaaph.

⁴⁸Caleb’s concubine Maacah was the mother of Sheber and Tirhanah.

⁴⁹She also gave birth to Shaaph the father of Madmannah and to Sheva the father of Macbenah and Gibea. Caleb’s daughter was Acsah.

⁵⁰These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim,

⁵¹Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader.

⁵²The descendants of Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim were: Haroeh, half the Manahathites,

⁵³and the clans of Kiriath Jearim: the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites and Mishraites. From these descended the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.

⁵⁴The descendants of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites,

⁵⁵and the clans of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Recab.

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3These were the sons of David born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second, Daniel the son of Abigail of Carmel;

²the third, Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;

³the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah.

⁴These six were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years,

⁵and these were the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.

⁶There were also Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet,

⁷Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

⁸Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet-nine in all.

⁹All these were the sons of David, besides his sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister. The Kings of Judah

¹⁰Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,

¹¹Jehoram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,

¹²Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son,

¹³Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,

¹⁴Amon his son, Josiah his son.

¹⁵The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second son, Zedekiah the third, Shallum the fourth.

¹⁶The successors of Jehoiakim: Jehoiachin his son, and Zedekiah. The Royal Line After the Exile

¹⁷The descendants of Jehoiachin the captive: Shealtiel his son,

¹⁸Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah.

¹⁹The sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. The sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah. Shelomith was their sister.

²⁰There were also five others: Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah and Jushab- Hesed.

²¹The descendants of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, and the sons of Rephaiah, of Arnan, of Obadiah and of Shecaniah.

²²The descendants of Shecaniah: Shemaiah and his sons: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah and Shaphat-six in all.

²³The sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hizkiah and Azrikam-three in all.

²⁴The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah and Anani-seven in all.

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4The descendants of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobal.

²Reaiah son of Shobal was the father of Jahath, and Jahath the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.

³These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash. Their sister was named Hazzelelponi.

⁴Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and father of Bethlehem.

⁵Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

⁶Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

⁷The sons of Helah: Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan,

⁸and Koz, who was the father of Anub and Hazzobebah and of the clans of Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”

¹⁰Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

¹¹Kelub, Shuhah’s brother, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

¹²Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash. These were the men of Recah.

¹³The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.

¹⁴Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of Ge Harashim. It was called this because its people were craftsmen.

¹⁵The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah and Naam. The son of Elah: Kenaz.

¹⁶The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.

¹⁷The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives gave birth to Miriam, Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

¹⁸(His Judean wife gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered had married.

¹⁹The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham: the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

²⁰The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon. The descendants of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

²¹The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea,

²²Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (These records are from ancient times.)

²³They were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah; they stayed there and worked for the king.

²⁴The descendants of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah and Shaul;

²⁵Shallum was Shaul’s son, Mibsam his son and Mishma his son.

²⁶The descendants of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son and Shimei his son.

²⁷Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children; so their entire clan did not become as numerous as the people of Judah.

²⁸They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual,

²⁹Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,

³⁰Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,

³¹Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri and Shaaraim. These were their towns until the reign of David.

³²Their surrounding villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token and Ashan-five towns-

³³and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath. These were their settlements. And they kept a genealogical record.

³⁴Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah,

³⁵Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,

³⁶also Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,

³⁷and Ziza son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah.

³⁸The men listed above by name were leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly,

³⁹and they went to the outskirts of Gedor to the east of the valley in search of pasture for their flocks.

⁴⁰They found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful and quiet. Some Hamites had lived there formerly.

⁴¹The men whose names were listed came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings and also the Meunites who were there and completely destroyed them, as is evident to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks.

⁴²And five hundred of these Simeonites, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, invaded the hill country of Seir.

⁴³They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

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5The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright,

²and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)-

³the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

⁴The descendants of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,

⁵Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son,

⁶and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath- Pileser king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.

⁷Their relatives by clans, listed according to their genealogical records: Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,

⁸and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in the area from Aroer to Nebo and Baal Meon.

⁹To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead.

¹⁰During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.

¹¹The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salecah:

¹²Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan.

¹³Their relatives, by families, were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber-seven in all.

¹⁴These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz.

¹⁵Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.

¹⁶The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as they extended.

¹⁷All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service-able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle.

¹⁹They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab.

²⁰They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.

²¹They seized the livestock of the Hagrites-fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive,

²²and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.

²³The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon).

²⁴These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families.

²⁵But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

²⁶So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

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6The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

³The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁴Eleazar was the father of Phinehas, Phinehas the father of Abishua,

⁵Abishua the father of Bukki, Bukki the father of Uzzi,

⁶Uzzi the father of Zerahiah, Zerahiah the father of Meraioth,

⁷Meraioth the father of Amariah, Amariah the father of Ahitub,

⁸Ahitub the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Ahimaaz,

⁹Ahimaaz the father of Azariah, Azariah the father of Johanan,

¹⁰Johanan the father of Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem),

¹¹Azariah the father of Amariah, Amariah the father of Ahitub,

¹²Ahitub the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Shallum,

¹³Shallum the father of Hilkiah, Hilkiah the father of Azariah,

¹⁴Azariah the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah the father of Jehozadak.

¹⁵Jehozadak was deported when the Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

¹⁹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:

²⁰Of Gershon: Libni his son, Jehath his son, Zimmah his son,

²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son and Jeatherai his son.

²²The descendants of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

²³Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son,

²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son and Shaul his son.

²⁵The descendants of Elkanah: Amasai, Ahimoth,

²⁶Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son,

²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son and Samuel his son.

²⁸The sons of Samuel: Joel the firstborn and Abijah the second son.

²⁹The descendants of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,

³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son and Asaiah his son. The Temple Musicians

³¹These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there.

³²They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.

³³Here are the men who served, together with their sons: From the Kohathites: Heman, the musician, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

³⁴the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

³⁵the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

³⁶the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

³⁷the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

³⁸the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel;

³⁹and Heman’s associate Asaph, who served at his right hand: Asaph son of Berekiah, the son of Shimea,

⁴⁰the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malkijah,

⁴¹the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,

⁴²the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,

⁴³the son of Jahath, the son of Gershon, the son of Levi;

⁴⁴and from their associates, the Merarites, at his left hand: Ethan son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,

⁴⁵the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,

⁴⁶the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer,

⁴⁷the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸Their fellow Levites were assigned to all the other duties of the tabernacle, the house of God.

⁴⁹But Aaron and his descendants were the ones who presented offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense in connection with all that was done in the Most Holy Place, making atonement for Israel, in accordance with all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰These were the descendants of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,

⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,

⁵³Zadok his son and Ahimaaz his son.

⁵⁴These were the locations of their settlements allotted as their territory (they were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clan, because the first lot was for them):

⁵⁵They were given Hebron in Judah with its surrounding pasturelands.

⁵⁶But the fields and villages around the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

⁵⁷So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), and Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa,

⁵⁸Hilen, Debir,

⁵⁹Ashan, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands.

⁶⁰And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. These towns, which were distributed among the Kohathite clans, were thirteen in all.

⁶¹The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of half the tribe of Manasseh.

⁶²The descendants of Gershon, clan by clan, were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher and Naphtali, and from the part of the tribe of Manasseh that is in Bashan.

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

⁶⁴So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and their pasturelands.

⁶⁵From the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin they allotted the previously named towns.

⁶⁶Some of the Kohathite clans were given as their territory towns from the tribe of Ephraim.

⁶⁷In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge), and Gezer,

⁶⁸Jokmeam, Beth Horon,

⁶⁹Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁰And from half the tribe of Manasseh the Israelites gave Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands, to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

⁷¹The Gershonites received the following: From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands;

⁷²from the tribe of Issachar they received Kedesh, Daberath,

⁷³Ramoth and Anem, together with their pasturelands;

⁷⁴from the tribe of Asher they received Mashal, Abdon,

⁷⁵Hukok and Rehob, together with their pasturelands;

⁷⁶and from the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁷The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they received Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands;

⁷⁸from the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan east of Jericho they received Bezer in the desert, Jahzah,

⁷⁹Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands;

⁸⁰and from the tribe of Gad they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim,

⁸¹Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands.

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7The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron-four in all.

²The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam and Samuel- heads of their families. During the reign of David, the descendants of Tola listed as fighting men in their genealogy numbered 22,600.

³The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel and Isshiah. All five of them were chiefs.

⁴According to their family genealogy, they had 36,000 men ready for battle, for they had many wives and children.

⁵The relatives who were fighting men belonging to all the clans of Issachar, as listed in their genealogy, were 87,000 in all.

⁶Three sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker and Jediael.

⁷The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth and Iri, heads of families-five in all. Their genealogical record listed 22,034 fighting men.

⁸The sons of Beker: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Beker.

⁹Their genealogical record listed the heads of families and 20,200 fighting men.

¹⁰The son of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish and Ahishahar.

¹¹All these sons of Jediael were heads of families. There were 17,200 fighting men ready to go out to war.

¹²The Shuppites and Huppites were the descendants of Ir, and the Hushites the descendants of Aher.

¹³The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem -the descendants of Bilhah.

¹⁴The descendants of Manasseh: Asriel was his descendant through his Aramean concubine. She gave birth to Makir the father of Gilead.

¹⁵Makir took a wife from among the Huppites and Shuppites. His sister’s name was Maacah. Another descendant was named Zelophehad, who had only daughters.

¹⁶Makir’s wife Maacah gave birth to a son and named him Peresh. His brother was named Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.

¹⁷The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh.

¹⁸His sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer and Mahlah.

¹⁹The sons of Shemida were: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi and Aniam.

²⁰The descendants of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son,

²¹Zabad his son and Shuthelah his son. Ezer and Elead were killed by the native-born men of Gath, when they went down to seize their livestock.

²²Their father Ephraim mourned for them many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.

²³Then he lay with his wife again, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. He named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his family.

²⁴His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah.

²⁵Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son,

²⁶Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,

²⁷Nun his son and Joshua his son.

²⁸Their lands and settlements included Bethel and its surrounding villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages all the way to Ayyah and its villages.

²⁹Along the borders of Manasseh were Beth Shan, Taanach, Megiddo and Dor, together with their villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.

³⁰The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.

³¹The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel, who was the father of Birzaith.

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

³³The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s sons.

³⁴The sons of Shomer: Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah and Aram.

³⁵The sons of his brother Helem: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh and Amal.

³⁶The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah,

³⁷Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran and Beera.

³⁸The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispah and Ara.

³⁹The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel and Rizia.

⁴⁰All these were descendants of Asher- heads of families, choice men, brave warriors and outstanding leaders. The number of men ready for battle, as listed in their genealogy, was 26,000.

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8Benjamin was the father of Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second son, Aharah the third,

²Nohah the fourth and Rapha the fifth.

³The sons of Bela were: Addar, Gera, Abihud,

⁴Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah,

⁵Gera, Shephuphan and Huram.

⁶These were the descendants of Ehud, who were heads of families of those living in Geba and were deported to Manahath:

⁷Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, who deported them and who was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.

⁸Sons were born to Shaharaim in Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara.

⁹By his wife Hodesh he had Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam,

¹⁰Jeuz, Sakia and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families.

¹¹By Hushim he had Abitub and Elpaal.

¹²The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod with its surrounding villages),

¹³and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of families of those living in Aijalon and who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.

¹⁴Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth,

¹⁵Zebadiah, Arad, Eder,

¹⁶Michael, Ishpah and Joha were the sons of Beriah.

¹⁷Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber,

¹⁸Ishmerai, Izliah and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.

¹⁹Jakim, Zicri, Zabdi,

²⁰Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel,

²¹Adaiah, Beraiah and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.

²²Ishpan, Eber, Eliel,

²³Abdon, Zicri, Hanan,

²⁴Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah,

²⁵Iphdeiah and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.

²⁶Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah,

²⁷Jaareshiah, Elijah and Zicri were the sons of Jeroham.

²⁸All these were heads of families, chiefs as listed in their genealogy, and they lived in Jerusalem.

²⁹Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah,

³⁰and his firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,

³¹Gedor, Ahio, Zeker

³²and Mikloth, who was the father of Shimeah. They too lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

³³Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.

³⁴The son of Jonathan: Merib-Baal, who was the father of Micah.

³⁵The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea and Ahaz.

³⁶Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah, Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth,

Azmaveth and Zimri, and Zimri was the father of Moza.

³⁷Moza was the father of Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son and Azel his son.

³⁸Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.

³⁹The sons of his brother Eshek: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second son and Eliphelet the third.

⁴⁰The sons of Ulam were brave warriors who could handle the bow. They had many sons and grandsons-150 in all. All these were the descendants of Benjamin.

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9All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.

²Now the first to resettle on their own property in their own towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites and temple servants.

³Those from Judah, from Benjamin, and from Ephraim and Manasseh who lived in Jerusalem were:

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

⁵Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons.

⁶Of the Zerahites: Jeuel. The people from Judah numbered 690.

⁷Of the Benjamites: Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah;

⁸Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi, the son of Micri; and Meshullam son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah.

⁹The people from Benjamin, as listed in their genealogy, numbered 956. All these men were heads of their families.

¹⁰Of the priests: Jedaiah; Jehoiarib; Jakin;

¹¹Azariah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the official in charge of the house of God;

¹²Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah; and Maasai son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer.

¹³The priests, who were heads of families, numbered 1,760. They were able men, responsible for ministering in the house of God.

¹⁴Of the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, a Merarite;

¹⁵Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal and Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zicri, the son of Asaph;

¹⁶Obadiah son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berekiah son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

¹⁷The gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman and their brothers, Shallum their chief

¹⁸being stationed at the King’s Gate on the east, up to the present time. These were the gatekeepers belonging to the camp of the Levites.

¹⁹Shallum son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his fellow gatekeepers from his family (the Korahites) were responsible for guarding the thresholds of the Tent just as their fathers had been responsible for guarding the entrance to the dwelling of the Lord .

²⁰In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar was in charge of the gatekeepers, and the Lord was with him.

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

²²Altogether, those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds numbered

212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. The gatekeepers had been assigned to their positions of trust by David and Samuel the seer.

²³They and their descendants were in charge of guarding the gates of the house of the Lord -the house called the Tent.

²⁴The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north and south.

²⁵Their brothers in their villages had to come from time to time and share their duties for seven-day periods.

²⁶But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God.

²⁷They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning.

²⁸Some of them were in charge of the articles used in the temple service; they counted them when they were brought in and when they were taken out.

²⁹Others were assigned to take care of the furnishings and all the other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the flour and wine, and the oil, incense and spices.

³⁰But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices.

³¹A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with the responsibility for baking the offering bread.

³²Some of their Kohathite brothers were in charge of preparing for every Sabbath the bread set out on the table.

³³Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night.

³⁴All these were heads of Levite families, chiefs as listed in their genealogy, and they lived in Jerusalem.

³⁵Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah,

³⁶and his firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,

³⁷Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah and Mikloth.

³⁸Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They too lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

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

⁴⁰The son of Jonathan: Merib-Baal, who was the father of Micah.

⁴¹The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea and Ahaz.

⁴²Ahaz was the father of Jadah, Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri, and Zimri was the father of Moza.

⁴³Moza was the father of Binea; Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son and Azel his son.

⁴⁴Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

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10Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.

³The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him.

⁴Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

⁵When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died.

⁶So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.

⁷When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people.

¹⁰They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.

¹¹When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of everything the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

¹³Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord ; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance,

¹⁴and did not inquire of the Lord . So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

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11All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood.

²In the past, even while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’ “

³When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, he made a

compact with them at Hebron before the Lord , and they anointed David king over Israel, as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

⁴David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). The Jebusites who lived there

⁵said to David, “You will not get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David.

⁶David had said, “Whoever leads the attack on the Jebusites will become commander-in-chief.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and so he received the command.

⁷David then took up residence in the fortress, and so it was called the City of David.

⁸He built up the city around it, from the supporting terraces to the surrounding wall, while Joab restored the rest of the city.

⁹And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him.

¹⁰These were the chiefs of David’s mighty men-they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised-

¹¹this is the list of David’s mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was chief of the officers ; he raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.

¹²Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men.

¹³He was with David at Pas Dammim when the Philistines gathered there for battle. At a place where there was a field full of barley, the troops fled from the Philistines.

¹⁴But they took their stand in the middle of the field. They defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹⁵Three of the thirty chiefs came down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.

¹⁶At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.

¹⁷David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”

¹⁸So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord .

¹⁹“God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.

²⁰Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three.

²¹He was doubly honored above the Three and became their commander, even though he was not included among them.

²²Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab’s best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

²³And he struck down an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.

²⁴Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty men.

²⁵He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

²⁶The mighty men were: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,

²⁷Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,

²⁸Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, Abiezer from Anathoth,

²⁹Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,

³⁰Maharai the Netophathite, Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,

³¹Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,

³²Hurai from the ravines of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,

³³Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,

³⁴the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan son of Shagee the Hararite,

³⁵Ahiam son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur,

³⁶Hepher the Mekerathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,

³⁷Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai son of Ezbai,

³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar son of Hagri,

³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,

⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

⁴¹Uriah the Hittite, Zabad son of Ahlai,

⁴²Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, who was chief of the Reubenites, and the thirty with him,

⁴³Hanan son of Maacah, Joshaphat the Mithnite,

⁴⁴Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite,

⁴⁵Jediael son of Shimri, his brother Joha the Tizite,

⁴⁶Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite,

⁴⁷Eliel, Obed and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

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12These were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the warriors who helped him in battle;

²they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were kinsmen of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin):

³Ahiezer their chief and Joash the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu the Anathothite,

⁴and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the Thirty, who was a leader of the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite,

⁵Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite;

⁶Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer and Jashobeam the Korahites;

⁷and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

⁸Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.

⁹Ezer was the chief, Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third,

¹⁰Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

¹¹Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

¹²Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

¹³Jeremiah the tenth and Macbannai the eleventh.

¹⁴These Gadites were army commanders; the least was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand.

¹⁵It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.

¹⁷David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

¹⁸Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Success, success to you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.

¹⁹Some of the men of Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (He and his men did not help the Philistines because, after consultation, their rulers sent him away. They said, “It will cost us our heads if he deserts to his master Saul.”)

²⁰When David went to Ziklag, these were the men of Manasseh who defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai, leaders of units of a thousand in Manasseh.

²¹They helped David against raiding bands, for all of them were brave warriors, and they were commanders in his army.

²²Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.

²³These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, as the Lord had said:

²⁴men of Judah, carrying shield and spear-6,800 armed for battle;

²⁵men of Simeon, warriors ready for battle-7,100;

²⁶men of Levi-4,600,

²⁷including Jehoiada, leader of the family of Aaron, with 3,700 men,

²⁸and Zadok, a brave young warrior, with 22 officers from his family;

²⁹men of Benjamin, Saul’s kinsmen- 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to Saul’s house until then;

³⁰men of Ephraim, brave warriors, famous in their own clans-20,800;

³¹men of half the tribe of Manasseh, designated by name to come and make David king-18,000;

³²men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do- 200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;

³³men of Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty-50,000;

³⁴men of Naphtali-1,000 officers, together with 37,000 men carrying shields and spears;

³⁵men of Dan, ready for battle-28,600;

³⁶men of Asher, experienced soldiers prepared for battle-40,000;

³⁷and from east of the Jordan, men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, armed with every type of weapon-120,000.

³⁸All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David king.

³⁹The men spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, for their families had supplied provisions for them.

⁴⁰Also, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. There were plentiful supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, oil, cattle and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

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13David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.

²He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our

brothers throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us.

³Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.”

⁴The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.

⁵So David assembled all the Israelites, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim.

⁶David and all the Israelites with him went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord , who is enthroned between the cherubim-the ark that is called by the Name.

⁷They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it.

⁸David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.

⁹When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled.

¹⁰The Lord ‘s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

¹¹Then David was angry because the Lord ‘s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.

¹²David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”

¹³He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

¹⁴The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household and everything he had.

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14Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace for him.

²And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

³In Jerusalem David took more wives and became the father of more sons and daughters.

⁴These are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,

⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

⁷Elishama, Beeliada and Eliphelet.

⁸When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them.

⁹Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim;

¹⁰so David inquired of God: “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord answered him, “Go, I will hand them over to you.”

¹¹So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.

¹²The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, and David gave orders to burn them in the fire.

¹³Once more the Philistines raided the valley;

¹⁴so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

¹⁵As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.”

¹⁶So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

¹⁷So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him.

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15After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.

²Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”

³David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.

⁴He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

⁵From the descendants of Kohath, Uriel the leader and 120 relatives;

⁶from the descendants of Merari, Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;

⁷from the descendants of Gershon, Joel the leader and 130 relatives;

⁸from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;

⁹from the descendants of Hebron, Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;

¹⁰from the descendants of Uzziel, Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives.

¹¹Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites.

¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord , the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.

¹³It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.”

¹⁴So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord , the God of Israel.

¹⁵And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord .

¹⁶David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

¹⁸and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah,

Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed- Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.

¹⁹The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;

²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth ,

²¹and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith .

²²Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

²³Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed- Edom, with rejoicing.

²⁶Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord , seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed.

²⁷Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod.

²⁸So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

²⁹As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

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16They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God.

²After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord .

³Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.

⁴He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord , to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord , the God of Israel:

⁵Asaph was the chief, Zechariah second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel,

Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

⁶and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the Lord :

⁸Give thanks to the Lord , call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

⁹Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

¹⁰Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

¹¹Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

¹²Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

¹³O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,

¹⁶the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.

¹⁷He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

¹⁸“To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

¹⁹When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,

²⁰they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.

²¹He allowed no man to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:

²²“Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

²³Sing to the Lord , all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.

²⁴Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

²⁵For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

²⁷Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.

²⁸Ascribe to the Lord , O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength,

²⁹ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

³⁰Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

³²Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

³³Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the Lord , for he comes to judge the earth.

³⁴Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his love endures forever.

³⁵Cry out, “Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise.”

³⁶Praise be to the Lord , the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord .”

³⁷David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.

³⁸He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty- eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah, were gatekeepers.

³⁹David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon

⁴⁰to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law of the Lord , which he had given Israel.

⁴¹With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord , “for his love endures forever.”

⁴²Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.

⁴³Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family.

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17After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”

²Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.”

³That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

⁴“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.

⁵I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent

site to another, from one dwelling place to another.

⁶Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ‘

⁷“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.

⁸I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth.

⁹And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning

¹⁰and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. ” ‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you:

¹¹When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.

¹³I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor.

¹⁴I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’ “

¹⁵Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

¹⁶Then King David went in and sat before the Lord , and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

¹⁷And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God.

¹⁸“What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant,

¹⁹O Lord . For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

²⁰“There is no one like you, O Lord , and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

²¹And who is like your people Israel-the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your

people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?

²²You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O Lord , have become their God.

²³“And now, Lord , let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised,

²⁴so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

²⁵“You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you.

²⁶O Lord , you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant.

²⁷Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Lord , have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”

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18In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines.

²David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to him and brought tribute.

³Moreover, David fought Hadadezer king of Zobah, as far as Hamath, when he went to establish his control along the Euphrates River.

⁴David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

⁵When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them.

⁶He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

⁷David took the gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸From Tebah and Cun, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze, which Solomon used to make the bronze Sea, the pillars and various bronze articles.

⁹When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,

¹⁰he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer,

who had been at war with Tou. Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze.

¹¹King David dedicated these articles to the Lord , as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek.

¹²Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹³He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

¹⁴David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.

¹⁵Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;

¹⁶Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was secretary;

¹⁷Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.

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19In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king.

²David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his

father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him,

³the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Haven’t his men come to you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?”

⁴So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved them, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

⁶When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David’s nostrils, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah and Zobah.

⁷They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maacah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.

⁸On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.

⁹The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

¹⁰Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans.

¹¹He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites.

¹²Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you.

¹³Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

¹⁴Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.

¹⁵When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the River, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

¹⁷When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him.

¹⁸But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.

¹⁹When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.

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20In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins.

²David took the crown from the head of their king -its weight was found to be a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones-and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city

³and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

⁴In the course of time, war broke out with the Philistines, at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaites, and the Philistines were subjugated.

⁵In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.

⁶In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot-twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha.

⁷When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

⁸These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.

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21Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

²So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

³But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

⁴The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.

⁵Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

⁶But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him.

⁷This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

⁹The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer,

¹⁰“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’ “

¹¹So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice:

¹²three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord – days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹³David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord , for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.

¹⁵And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁶David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

¹⁷David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O Lord my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁹So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord .

²⁰While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves.

²¹Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

²²David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord , that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

²³Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

²⁴But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

²⁵So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site.

²⁶David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord , and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing

floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.

²⁹The tabernacle of the Lord , which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon.

³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord .

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22Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

²So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God.

³He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed.

⁴He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

⁵David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

⁶Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord , the God of Israel.

⁷David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God.

⁸But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.

⁹But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.

¹⁰He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

¹¹“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would.

¹²May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

¹³Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁴“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.

¹⁵You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work

¹⁶in gold and silver, bronze and iron- craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon.

¹⁸He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people.

¹⁹Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord .”

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23When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

²He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

³The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.

⁴David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges.

⁵Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”

⁶David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

⁷Belonging to the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

⁸The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel-three in all.

⁹The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran-three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

¹⁰And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei-four in all.

¹¹Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.

¹²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel-four in all.

¹³The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the

most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord , to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

¹⁴The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

¹⁵The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

¹⁶The descendants of Gershom: Shubael was the first.

¹⁷The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

¹⁸The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

¹⁹The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁰The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

²¹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

²²Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

²³The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth-three in all.

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their families-the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the

workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord .

²⁵For David had said, “Since the Lord , the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever,

²⁶the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.”

²⁷According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

²⁸The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord : to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God.

²⁹They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

³⁰They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord . They were to do the same in the evening

³¹and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

³²And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting,

for the Holy Place and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord .

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24These were the divisions of the sons of Aaron: The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests.

³With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering.

⁴A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants.

⁵They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁶The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites-one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

⁹the fifth to Malkijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,

¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

¹⁷the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty- second to Gamul,

¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord , according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the Lord , the God of Israel, had commanded him.

²⁰As for the rest of the descendants of Levi: from the sons of Amram: Shubael; from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

²¹As for Rehabiah, from his sons: Isshiah was the first.

²²From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

²³The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

²⁵The brother of Micah: Isshiah; from the sons of Isshiah: Zechariah.

²⁶The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

²⁷The sons of Merari: from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri.

²⁸From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹From Kish: the son of Kish: Jerahmeel.

³⁰And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These were the Levites, according to their families.

³¹They also cast lots, just as their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

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25David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service:

²From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king’s supervision.

³As for Jeduthun, from his sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the Lord .

⁴As for Heman, from his sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer; Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth.

⁵All these were sons of Heman the king’s seer. They were given him through the promises of God to exalt him. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶All these men were under the supervision of their fathers for the music of the temple of the Lord , with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king.

⁷Along with their relatives-all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord

-they numbered 288.

⁸Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots for their duties.

⁹The first lot, which was for Asaph, fell to Joseph, his sons and relatives, 12 the second to Gedaliah, he and his relatives and sons, 12

¹⁰the third to Zaccur, his sons and relatives, 12

¹¹the fourth to Izri, his sons and relatives, 12

¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and relatives, 12

¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and relatives, 12

¹⁴the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons and relatives, 12

¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and relatives, 12

¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and relatives, 12

¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons and relatives, 12

¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and relatives, 12

¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁰the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons and relatives, 12

²¹the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons and relatives, 12

²²the fifteenth to Jerimoth, his sons and relatives, 12

²³the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁴the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁵the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁶the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁷the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁸the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and relatives, 12

²⁹the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and relatives, 12

³⁰the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and relatives, 12

³¹the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer, his sons and relatives, 12

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26The divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

²Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,

³Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth and Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴Obed-Edom also had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth,

⁵Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth. (For God had blessed Obed-Edom.)

⁶His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders in their father’s family because they were very capable men.

⁷The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad; his relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also able men.

⁸All these were descendants of Obed- Edom; they and their sons and their relatives were capable men with the strength to do the work-descendants of Obed-Edom, 62 in all.

⁹Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, who were able men-18 in all.

¹⁰Hosah the Merarite had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him the first),

¹¹Hilkiah the second, Tabaliah the third and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and relatives of Hosah were 13 in all.

¹²These divisions of the gatekeepers, through their chief men, had duties for ministering in the temple of the Lord , just as their relatives had.

¹³Lots were cast for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.

¹⁴The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him.

¹⁵The lot for the South Gate fell to Obed- Edom, and the lot for the storehouse fell to his sons.

¹⁶The lots for the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road fell to Shuppim and Hosah. Guard was alongside of guard:

¹⁷There were six Levites a day on the east, four a day on the north, four a day on the south and two at a time at the storehouse.

¹⁸As for the court to the west, there were four at the road and two at the court itself.

¹⁹These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari.

²⁰Their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the dedicated things.

²¹The descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and who

were heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli,

²²the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries of the temple of the Lord .

²³From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites:

²⁴Shubael, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries.

²⁵His relatives through Eliezer: Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zicri his son and Shelomith his son.

²⁶Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army commanders.

²⁷Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the Lord .

²⁸And everything dedicated by Samuel the seer and by Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner and Joab son of Zeruiah, and all the other dedicated things were in the care of Shelomith and his relatives.

²⁹From the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were assigned duties away from the temple, as officials and judges over Israel.

³⁰From the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives-seventeen hundred able men-were responsible in Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the Lord and for the king’s service.

³¹As for the Hebronites, Jeriah was their chief according to the genealogical records of their families. In the fortieth year of David’s reign a search was made in the records, and capable men among the Hebronites were found at Jazer in Gilead.

³²Jeriah had twenty-seven hundred relatives, who were able men and heads of families, and King David put them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.

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27This is the list of the Israelites- heads of families, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men.

²In charge of the first division, for the first month, was Jashobeam son of Zabdiel. There were 24,000 men in his division.

³He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴In charge of the division for the second month was Dodai the Ahohite; Mikloth

was the leader of his division. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁵The third army commander, for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. He was chief and there were 24,000 men in his division.

⁶This was the Benaiah who was a mighty man among the Thirty and was over the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

⁷The fourth, for the fourth month, was Asahel the brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah was his successor. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁸The fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁹The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁰The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹¹The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹²The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹³The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁴The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁵The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁶The officers over the tribes of Israel: over the Reubenites: Eliezer son of Zicri; over the Simeonites: Shephatiah son of Maacah;

¹⁷over Levi: Hashabiah son of Kemuel; over Aaron: Zadok;

¹⁸over Judah: Elihu, a brother of David; over Issachar: Omri son of Michael;

¹⁹over Zebulun: Ishmaiah son of Obadiah; over Naphtali: Jerimoth son of Azriel;

²⁰over the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah; over half the tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;

²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo son of Zechariah; over Benjamin: Jaasiel son of Abner;

²²over Dan: Azarel son of Jeroham. These were the officers over the tribes of Israel.

²³David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.

²⁴Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. Wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering, and the number was not entered in the book of the annals of King David.

²⁵Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses. Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers.

²⁶Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the land.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²⁸Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig trees in the western foothills. Joash was in charge of the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels. Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these were the officials in charge of King David’s property.

³²Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hacmoni took care of the king’s sons.

³³Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend.

³⁴Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was the commander of the royal army.

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28David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.

²King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord , for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.

³But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’

⁴“Yet the Lord , the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.

⁵Of all my sons-and the Lord has given me many-he has chosen my son

Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

⁶He said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

⁷I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.’

⁸“So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord , and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.

⁹“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

¹⁰Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

¹¹Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement.

¹²He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts

of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things.

¹³He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the Lord , as well as for all the articles to be used in its service.

¹⁴He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service:

¹⁵the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand;

¹⁶the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables;

¹⁷the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish;

¹⁸and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the Lord .

¹⁹“All this,” David said, “I have in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, and

he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.”

²⁰David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.

²¹The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”

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29Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God.

²With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God-gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble-all of these in large quantities.

³Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:

⁴three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,

⁵for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord ?”

⁶Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.

⁷They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.

⁸Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.

⁹The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord . David the king also rejoiced greatly.

¹⁰David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O Lord , God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

¹¹Yours, O Lord , is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in

heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord , is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

¹²Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

¹³Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

¹⁵We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

¹⁶O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

¹⁷I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

¹⁸O Lord , God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

¹⁹And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your

commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

²⁰Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord , the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the Lord and the king.

²¹The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

²²They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day. Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest.

²³So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him.

²⁴All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

²⁵The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

²⁶David son of Jesse was king over all Israel.

²⁷He ruled over Israel forty years-seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

²⁸He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.

²⁹As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer,

³⁰together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.

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