1 Chronicles 4
English Standard Version
Descendants of Judah
4 (A)The sons of Judah: (B)Perez, Hezron, (C)Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 (D)Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the (E)Zorathites. 3 These were the sons[a] of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, 4 and (F)Penuel fathered (G)Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of (H)Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. 5 (I)Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. 8 Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. 9 Jabez was (J)more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”[b] 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm[c] so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 11 Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. 12 Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. 13 The sons of (K)Kenaz: (L)Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.[d] 14 Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim,[e] so-called because they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of (M)Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son[f] of Elah: Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married;[g] and she conceived and bore[h] Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his Judahite wife bore (N)Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. 19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. 20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21 The sons of (O)Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem[i] (now the records[j] are ancient). 23 These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service.
Descendants of Simeon
24 (P)The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, (Q)nor did all their clan multiply (R)like the men of Judah. 28 (S)They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 (T)Bilhah, Ezem, (U)Tolad, 30 (V)Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, (W)Hazar-susim, (X)Beth-biri, and (Y)Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. 32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, 33 along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as (Z)Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record.
34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah— 38 these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, (AA)and their fathers' houses increased greatly. 39 They journeyed to the entrance of (AB)Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, 40 where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, (AC)quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. 41 (AD)These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, (AE)and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to (AF)Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated (AG)the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 4:3 Septuagint (compare Vulgate); Hebrew father
- 1 Chronicles 4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain
- 1 Chronicles 4:10 Or evil
- 1 Chronicles 4:13 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Meonothai
- 1 Chronicles 4:14 Ge-harashim means valley of craftsmen
- 1 Chronicles 4:15 Hebrew sons
- 1 Chronicles 4:17 The clause These are… married is transposed from verse 18
- 1 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew lacks and bore
- 1 Chronicles 4:22 Vulgate (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and Jashubi-lahem
- 1 Chronicles 4:22 Or matters
1 Chronicles 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
1 The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2 Reaiah, the son of Shobal, was the father of Jahath, Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.
3 These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, and their sister Hazzelelponi.
4 Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.
5 Ashur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives: Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahash-tari. They were the sons of Naarah.
7 The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
8 Koz was the father of Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum.
9 [a]Jabez was the most honorable of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because she said, “I bore him with pain.” 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory. May your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I might be free from grief.” God granted what he requested.
11 Chelub, Shuhah’s brother, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.
12 Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These were the men of Recah.
13 The sons of Kenaz were Othniel[b] and Seraiah.
The sons of Othniel were Hathath and Meonothai.
14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.
Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of Geharashim, for they were craftsmen.
15 The sons of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh were Ir, Elah, and Naam.
The son of Elah was Kenaz.
16 The sons of Jahallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. A wife of his gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 His wife was from Egypt, and she gave birth to Jered, the father of Gedor, Heber, the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel, the father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithiah, Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Mered had married.
19 The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.
20 The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.
The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
21 The sons of Shelah, the son of Judah, were Er, the father of Lecah, Laadah, the father of Mareshah, and the clans of linen workers at Beth-ashbea, 22 Jokim, the men of Cozeba, Joash, and Saraph who ruled in Moab and Jashubi-lahem. These records are from ancient times. 23 They were potters who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They dwelt there and worked for the king.
24 Simeon. The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul. 25 Shallum was his son, Mibsam was his son, and Mishma was his son.
26 The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, his son, Zaccur, his son, and Shimei, his son.
27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children so the whole clan did not become very large in Judah. 28 They lived in Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities up to the time of the reign of David. 32 Their dependent villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, Ashan, five of them in all, 33 as well as all of the villages that surrounded these cities up to Baal. These were their settlements and their genealogies.
34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah, the son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu, the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, 36 as well as Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 and Ziza, the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah— 38 these were the names of the leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly. 39 They traveled toward the entrance of Gedor on the east side of the valley, to seek pastures for their flocks. 40 They found good, rich pastures and a spacious land that was quiet and peaceful. Some Hamites[c] had lived there from ancient times.
41 The men whose names are written here arrived during the days of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. They attacked those living there as well as the Meunites who were found there. They wiped them out, as is still true today. They dwelt in their place for there were pastures for their flocks there.
42 About five hundred of the Simeonites invaded the hill country of Seir led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 They killed the rest of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there up to the present.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 4:9 The prayer of Jabez has been immortalized throughout history as a request for protection and rich blessings in this life.
- 1 Chronicles 4:13 Othniel: after winning Achsah as his wife by conquering Kiriath-sepher, he serves as the first judge of Israel (Jdg 1:9-15).
- 1 Chronicles 4:40 Hamites: non-Israelite inhabitants of southern Palestine; sometimes they are called “Egyptians” (see Gen 21:9).
1 Chronicles 4
King James Version
4 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.
2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.
3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi:
4 And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem.
5 And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
6 And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.
7 And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.
8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
12 And Eshton begat Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Irnahash. These are the men of Rechah.
13 And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.
14 And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.
15 And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.
16 And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel.
17 And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
18 And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took.
19 And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.
20 And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth.
21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea,
22 And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things.
23 These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.
24 The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:
25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.
26 And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son.
27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters: but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.
28 And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,
29 And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
30 And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
31 And at Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusim, and at Bethbirei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David.
32 And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:
33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.
34 And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah, the son of Amaziah,
35 And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,
36 And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah,
37 And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah;
38 These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly.
39 And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.
40 And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.
41 And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks.
42 And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.
43 And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.

