¹⁸ The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war. ¹⁹ They made war with the Hagrites, ^(A)Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰ And ^(B)they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they ^(C)cried out to God in the battle. He ^[a]heeded their prayer, because they ^(D)put their trust in Him. ²¹ Then they took away their livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys—also one hundred thousand of their men; ²² for many fell dead, because the war ^(E)was God’s. And they dwelt in their place until ^(F)the captivity.

The Family of Manasseh (East)

²³ So the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to ^(G)Senir, or Mount Hermon. ²⁴ These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers’ houses.

²⁵ And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and ^(H)played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^(I)Pul king of Assyria, that is, ^(J)Tiglath-Pileser^[b] king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to ^(K)Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

The Family of Levi^(L)

6 The sons of Levi were ^(M)Gershon,^[c] Kohath, and Merari. ² The sons of Kohath were Amram, ^(N)Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ³ The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were ^(O)Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁴ Eleazar begot Phinehas, and Phinehas begot Abishua; ⁵ Abishua begot Bukki, and Bukki begot Uzzi; ⁶ Uzzi begot Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begot Meraioth; ⁷ Meraioth begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; ^8 (P)Ahitub begot ^(Q)Zadok, and Zadok begot Ahimaaz; ⁹ Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan; ¹⁰ Johanan begot Azariah (it was he ^(R)who ministered as priest in the ^(S)temple^[d] that Solomon built in Jerusalem); ^11 (T)Azariah begot ^(U)Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; ¹² Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot ^[e]Shallum; ¹³ Shallum begot Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begot Azariah; ¹⁴ Azariah begot ^(V)Seraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak. ¹⁵ Jehozadak went into captivity ^(W)when the Lord carried Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶ The sons of Levi were ^(X)Gershon,^[f] Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁷ These are the names of the sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. Now these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers: ²⁰ Of Gershon were Libni his son, Jahath his son, ^(Y)Zimmah his son, ^21 [g]Joah his son, ^[h]Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and ^[i]Jeatherai his son. ²² The sons of Kohath were ^[j]Amminadab his son, ^(Z)Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³ Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, ²⁴ Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. ²⁵ The sons of Elkanah were ^(AA)Amasai and Ahimoth. ²⁶ As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were ^[k]Zophai his son, ^[l]Nahath his son, ^27 [m]Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. ²⁸ The sons of Samuel were ^[n]Joel the firstborn, and Abijah ^[o]the second. ²⁹ The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, ³⁰ Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

Musicians in the House of the Lord

³¹ Now these are ^(AB)the men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ^(AC)ark came to rest. ³² They were ministering with music before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they served in their office according to their order.

³³ And these are the ones who ^[p]ministered with their sons: Of the sons of the ^(AD)Kohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, ³⁴ the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of ^[q]Eliel, the son of ^[r]Toah, ³⁵ the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ³⁶ the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ³⁷ the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of ^(AE)Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ³⁸ the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. ³⁹ And his brother ^(AF)Asaph, who stood at his right hand, was Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea, ⁴⁰ the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, ⁴¹ the son of ^(AG)Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ⁴² the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ⁴³ the son of Jahath, the son of Gershon, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴ Their brethren, the sons of Merari, on the left hand, were ^[s]Ethan the son of ^[t]Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ⁴⁵ the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶ the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer, ⁴⁷ the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸ And their brethren, the Levites, were appointed to every ^(AH)kind of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

The Family of Aaron

^49 (AI)But Aaron and his sons offered sacrifices ^(AJ)on the altar of burnt offering and ^(AK)on the altar of incense, for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. ⁵⁰ Now these are the ^(AL)sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ⁵¹ Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ⁵² Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ⁵³ Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

Dwelling Places of the Levites^(AM)

^54 (AN)Now these are their dwelling places throughout their settlements in their territory, for they were given by lot to the sons of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathites: ^55 (AO)They gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, with its surrounding ^[u]common-lands. ^56 (AP)But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷ And ^(AQ)to the sons of Aaron they gave one of the cities of refuge, Hebron; also Libnah with its common-lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its common-lands, ^58 [v]Hilen with its common-lands, Debir with its common-lands, ^59 [w]Ashan with its common-lands, and Beth Shemesh with its common-lands. ⁶⁰ And from the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with its common-lands, ^[x]Alemeth with its common-lands, and Anathoth with its common-lands. All their cities among their families were thirteen.

^61 (AR)To the rest of the family of the tribe of the Kohathites they gave ^(AS)by lot ten cities from half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁶² And to the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, they gave thirteen cities from the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁶³ To the sons of Merari, throughout their families, they gave ^(AT)twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun. ⁶⁴ So the children of Israel gave these cities with their ^[y]common-lands to the Levites. ⁶⁵ And they gave by lot from the tribe of the children of Judah, from the tribe of the children of Simeon, and from the tribe of the children of Benjamin these cities which are called by their names.

⁶⁶ Now ^(AU)some of the families of the sons of Kohath were given cities as their territory from the tribe of Ephraim. ^67 (AV)And they gave them one of the cities of refuge, Shechem with its common-lands, in the mountains of Ephraim, also Gezer with its common-lands, ^68 (AW)Jokmeam with its common-lands, Beth Horon with its common-lands, ⁶⁹ Aijalon with its common-lands, and Gath Rimmon with its common-lands. ⁷⁰ And from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner with its common-lands and Bileam with its common-lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹ From the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh the sons of Gershon were given Golan in Bashan with its common-lands and ^[z]Ashtaroth with its common-lands. ⁷² And from the tribe of Issachar: ^[aa]Kedesh with its common-lands, Daberath with its common-lands, ⁷³ Ramoth with its common-lands, and Anem with its common-lands. ⁷⁴ And from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its common-lands, Abdon with its common-lands, ⁷⁵ Hukok with its common-lands, and Rehob with its common-lands. ⁷⁶ And from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its common-lands, Hammon with its common-lands, and Kirjathaim with its common-lands.

⁷⁷ From the tribe of Zebulun the rest of the children of Merari were given ^[ab]Rimmon with its common-lands and Tabor with its common-lands. ⁷⁸ And on the other side of the Jordan, across from Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, they were given from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its common-lands, Jahzah with its common-lands, ⁷⁹ Kedemoth with its common-lands, and Mephaath with its common-lands. ⁸⁰ And from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its common-lands, Mahanaim with its common-lands, ⁸¹ Heshbon with its common-lands, and Jazer with its common-lands.

Paul’s Early Life

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”

So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: ² “I think myself ^(A)happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer ^(B)for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am ^(C)accused by the Jews, ³ especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

⁴ “My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. ⁵ They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to ^(D)the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. ^6 (E)And now I stand and am judged for the hope of ^(F)the promise made by God to our fathers. ⁷ To this promise ^(G)our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God ^(H)night and day, ^(I)hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. ⁸ Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

^9 (J)“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things ^[a]contrary to the name of ^(K)Jesus of Nazareth. ^10 (L)This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority ^(M)from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ^11 (N)And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Recounts His Conversion^(O)

^12 (P)“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^(Q)to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. ¹⁷ I will ^[b]deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, ^(R)to whom I ^[c]now send you, ^18 (S)to open their eyes, in order ^(T)to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, ^(U)that they may receive forgiveness of sins and ^(V)an inheritance among those who are ^(W)sanctified^[d] by faith in Me.’

Paul’s Post-Conversion Life

¹⁹ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but ^(X)declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do ^(Y)works befitting repentance. ²¹ For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those ^(Z)which the prophets and ^(AA)Moses said would come— ^23 (AB)that the Christ would suffer, ^(AC)that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and ^(AD)would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

Agrippa Parries Paul’s Challenge

²⁴ Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, ^(AE)you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”

²⁵ But he said, “I am not ^[e]mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. ²⁶ For the king, before whom I also speak freely, ^(AF)knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

²⁹ And Paul said, ^(AG)“I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰ When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; ³¹ and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, ^(AH)“This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.”

³² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set ^(AI)free ^(AJ)if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. ^(A)On ^[a]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.