Descendants of Reuben

5 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (^(A)for he was the firstborn, but because ^(B)he defiled his father's couch, ^(C)his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; ^2 (D)though Judah became strong among his brothers and a ^(E)chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), ³ the ^(F)sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁴ The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, ⁵ Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, ⁶ Beerah his son, whom ^(G)Tiglath-pileser^[a] king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. ⁷ And his kinsmen by their clans, ^(H)when the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, ⁸ and Bela the son of Azaz, son of ^(I)Shema, son of Joel, who lived in ^(J)Aroer, as far as ^(K)Nebo and ^(L)Baal-meon. ⁹ He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied ^(M)in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰ And in the days of Saul they waged war against the ^(N)Hagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

¹¹ The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as ^(O)Salecah: ¹² Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. ¹³ And their kinsmen according to their fathers' houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers' houses, ¹⁶ and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of ^(P)Sharon to their limits. ¹⁷ All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of ^(Q)Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of ^(R)Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸ The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, ^(S)expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. ¹⁹ They waged war against the ^(T)Hagrites, ^(U)Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰ And when they prevailed^[b] over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, ^(V)for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea ^(W)because they trusted in him. ²¹ They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. ²² For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived ^(X)in their place until ^(Y)the exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

²³ The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, ^(Z)Senir, and Mount Hermon. ²⁴ These were the heads of their fathers' houses: Epher,^[c] Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses. ²⁵ But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and ^(AA)whored ^(AB)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 ^(AC)Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of ^(AD)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them ^(AE)to Halah, ^(AF)Habor, Hara, and ^(AG)the river Gozan, to this day.

Descendants of Levi

6 ^{[d] (AH)}The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ^2 (AI)The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ^3 (AJ)The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. ^(AK)The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^4 (AL)(AM)Eleazar fathered ^(AN)Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, ⁵ Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, ⁶ Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered ^(AO)Meraioth, ⁷ Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, ^8 (AP)Ahitub fathered ^(AQ)Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, ⁹ Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, ¹⁰ and Johanan fathered Azariah (^(AR)it was he who served as priest ^(AS)in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). ^11 (AT)Azariah fathered ^(AU)Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, ¹² Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered ^(AV)Shallum, ¹³ Shallum fathered ^(AW)Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, ¹⁴ Azariah fathered ^(AX)Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; ¹⁵ and ^(AY)Jehozadak went into exile when the Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile ^(AZ)by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

^16 [e] The ^(BA)sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁷ And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: ^(BB)Libni and Shimei. ^18 (BC)The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. ^19 (BD)The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. ^20 (BE)Of Gershom: Libni his son, ^(BF)Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ²¹ Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. ^22 (BG)The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³ Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, ²⁴ Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. ²⁵ The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, ²⁶ Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, ²⁷ Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. ²⁸ The sons of Samuel: Joel^[f] his firstborn, the second Abijah.^{[g] 29 (BH)}The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, ³⁰ Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

³¹ These are the men ^(BI)whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord ^(BJ)after the ark rested there. ³² They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. ³³ These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of ^(BK)Samuel, ³⁴ son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, ³⁵ son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, ³⁶ son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, ³⁷ son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, ³⁸ son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; ³⁹ and his brother ^(BL)Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, ⁴⁰ son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, ⁴¹ son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, ⁴² son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, ⁴³ son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. ⁴⁴ On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, ⁴⁵ son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶ son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, ⁴⁷ son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. ⁴⁸ And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

⁴⁹ But Aaron and his sons made offerings ^(BM)on the altar of burnt offering and on ^(BN)the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and ^(BO)to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. ^50 (BP)These are the 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, Ahimaaz his son.

⁵⁴ These are their dwelling places according to their ^(BQ)settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the ^(BR)clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, ⁵⁵ to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, ^56 (BS)but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ^57 (BT)To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, ⁵⁸ Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, ⁵⁹ Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands; ⁶⁰ and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon,^[h] Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen.

^61 (BU)To the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. ⁶² To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan. ^63 (BV)To the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ^64 (BW)So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands. ⁶⁵ They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin ^(BX)these cities that are mentioned by name.

^66 (BY)And some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷ They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, ^68 (BZ)Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, ⁶⁹ Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, ⁷⁰ and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites.

^71 (CA)To the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and ^(CB)Ashtaroth with its pasturelands; ⁷² and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, ⁷³ Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands; ⁷⁴ out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, ⁷⁵ Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands; ⁷⁶ and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. ^77 (CC)To the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: ^(CD)Rimmono with its pasturelands, ^(CE)Tabor with its pasturelands, ⁷⁸ and ^(CF)beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, ⁷⁹ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; ⁸⁰ and out of the tribe of Gad: ^(CG)Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, ^(CH)Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ^81 (CI)Heshbon with its pasturelands, and ^(CJ)Jazer with its pasturelands.

Greeting

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of ^(A)the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to ^(B)the foreknowledge of God the Father, ^(C)in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and ^(D)for sprinkling with his blood:

May ^(E)grace and ^(F)peace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

^3 (G)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ^(H)According to his great mercy, ^(I)he has caused us to be born again to a living hope ^(J)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to ^(K)an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and ^(L)unfading, ^(M)kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God's power are being guarded ^(N)through faith for a salvation ^(O)ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(P)various trials, ⁷ so that ^(Q)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(R)though it is tested by ^(S)fire—may be found to result in ^(T)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ^8 (U)Though you have not seen him, you love him. ^(V)Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining ^(W)the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, ^(X)the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring ^(Y)what person or time^{[a] (Z)}the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating ^(AA)when he predicted ^(AB)the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ^12 (AC)It was revealed to them that ^(AD)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(AE)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(AF)things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

¹³ Therefore, ^(AG)preparing your minds for action,^[b] and ^(AH)being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, ^(AI)do not be conformed to the passions ^(AJ)of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but ^(AK)as he who called you is holy, you also be holy ^(AL)in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, ^(AM)“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ And if you ^(AN)call on him as Father who ^(AO)judges ^(AP)impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves ^(AQ)with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you ^(AR)were ransomed from ^(AS)the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but ^(AT)with the precious blood of Christ, like that of ^(AU)a lamb ^(AV)without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but ^(AW)was made manifest ^(AX)in the last times for the sake of you ^21 (AY)who through him are believers in God, ^(AZ)who raised him from the dead and ^(BA)gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(BB)a sincere brotherly love, ^(BC)love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ^23 (BD)since you have been born again, ^(BE)not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through ^(BF)the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for

And this word ^(BI)is the good news that was preached to you.

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 ^(BJ)So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ^2 (BK)Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^(BL)milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have ^(BM)tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone ^(BN)rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ^5 (BO)you yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^(BP)a spiritual house, to be ^(BQ)a holy priesthood, ^(BR)to offer spiritual sacrifices ^(BS)acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So the honor is for you who ^(BV)believe, but for those who ^(BW)do not believe,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^(BZ)as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are ^(CA)a chosen race, ^(CB)a royal ^(CC)priesthood, ^(CD)a holy nation, ^(CE)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(CF)out of darkness into ^(CG)his marvelous light. ^10 (CH)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you ^(CI)as sojourners and exiles ^(CJ)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(CK)which wage war against your soul. ^12 (CL)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(CM)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(CN)the day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

^13 (CO)Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,^[d] whether it be to the emperor^[e] as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him ^(CP)to punish those who do evil and ^(CQ)to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, ^(CR)that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ^16 (CS)Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but ^(CT)living as servants^[f] of God. ^17 (CU)Honor everyone. ^(CV)Love the brotherhood. ^(CW)Fear God. Honor the emperor.

^18 (CX)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. ¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, ^(CY)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But ^(CZ)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹ For ^(DA)to this you have been called, ^(DB)because Christ also suffered for you, ^(DC)leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ^22 (DD)He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ^23 (DE)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, ^(DF)but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ^24 (DG)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we ^(DH)might die to sin and ^(DI)live to righteousness. ^(DJ)By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For ^(DK)you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to ^(DL)the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.