1 Chronicles 5
King James Version
5 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)
3 The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
5 Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,
6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.
7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baalmeon:
9 And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
10 And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
11 And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salcah:
12 Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
13 And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven.
14 These are the children of Abihail the 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;
15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers.
16 And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.
17 All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
18 The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
19 And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.
22 For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.
24 And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.
25 And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
1 Chronicles 5
Easy-to-Read Version
Reuben’s Descendants
5 Reuben was Israel’s first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son. But he had sexual relations with his father’s wife. So those privileges were given to Joseph’s sons. In the family history, Reuben’s name is not listed as the first son. Judah became stronger than his brothers, so the leaders came from his family. But Joseph’s family got the other privileges that belong to the oldest son.
Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 These are the names of Joel’s descendants: Shemaiah was Joel’s son. Gog was Shemaiah’s son. Shimei was Gog’s son. 5 Micah was Shimei’s son. Reaiah was Micah’s son. Baal was Reaiah’s son. 6 Beerah was Baal’s son. King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria forced Beerah to leave his home. So Beerah became the king’s prisoner. Beerah was a leader of the tribe of Reuben.
7 Joel’s brothers and all his tribes are listed just as they are written in the family histories: Jeiel was the first son, then Zechariah, 8 and Bela. Bela was Azaz’s son. Azaz was Shema’s son. Shema was Joel’s son. They lived in the area of Aroer all the way to Nebo and Baal Meon. 9 Bela’s people lived to the east as far as the edge of the desert, near the Euphrates River. They lived there because they had many cattle in the land of Gilead. 10 When Saul was king, Bela’s people fought a war against the Hagrites. They defeated the Hagrites. Bela’s people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites. They lived in those tents and traveled throughout the area east of Gilead.
Gad’s Descendants
11 The people of Gad lived across the river from Reuben, in the area of Bashan. They spread all the way to the town of Salecah. 12 Joel was the first leader in Bashan. Shapham was the second leader. Then Janai became the leader.[a] 13 The seven brothers in their families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. 14 They were the descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri’s son. Huri was Jaroah’s son. Jaroah was Gilead’s son. Gilead was Michael’s son. Michael was Jeshishai’s son. Jeshishai was Jahdo’s son. Jahdo was Buz’s son. 15 Ahi was Abdiel’s son. Abdiel was Guni’s son. Ahi was the leader of their family.
16 The people in the tribe of Gad lived in the area of Gilead. They lived in the area of Bashan, in the small towns around Bashan, and in all the pastures in the area of Sharon all the way to the borders.
17 During the time of Jotham and Jeroboam, all these people’s names were written in the family history of Gad. Jotham was the king of Judah and Jeroboam was the king of Israel.
Some Soldiers Skilled in War
18 From half the tribe of Manasseh and from the tribes of Reuben and Gad there were 44,760 brave men ready for war. They were skilled in war. They carried shields and swords. And they were also good with bows and arrows. 19 They started a war against the Hagrites and the people of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 The men from the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad prayed to God during the war. They asked God to help them because they trusted him, so God helped them. He allowed them to defeat the Hagrites and those who were with the Hagrites. 21 They took the animals that belonged to the Hagrites. They took 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2000 donkeys, and 100,000 people. 22 Many Hagrites were killed because God helped the people of Reuben win the war. Then the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad settled in the land of the Hagrites. They lived there until the time when the Israelites were taken into captivity.
23 Half the tribe of Manasseh lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. They became a very large group of people.
24 These were the family leaders from half the tribe of Manasseh: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were all strong, brave, and famous men, and they were leaders in their families. 25 But they sinned against the God their ancestors had worshiped. They began worshiping the false gods of the people God had destroyed, the people who had lived in the land before them.
26 The God of Israel made King Pul of Assyria want to go to war. He was also called Tiglath Pileser. He fought against the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad. He forced them to leave their homes and made them prisoners. Pul took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River. Those tribes from Israel have lived in those places since that time until today.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 5:12 Then Janai became the leader Or “Then there was Janai, and then Shaphat was in Bashan.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International