The Tribes East of the Jordan

¹⁸ There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows. ¹⁹ They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites. ²⁰ They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him. So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated. ²¹ The plunder taken from the Hagrites included 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and goats, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 captives. ²² Many of the Hagrites were killed in the battle because God was fighting against them. The people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh lived in their land until they were taken into exile.

²³ The half-tribe of Manasseh was very large and spread through the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. ²⁴ These were the leaders of their clans: Epher,^[a] Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. These men had a great reputation as mighty warriors and leaders of their clans.

²⁵ But these tribes were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They worshiped the gods of the nations that God had destroyed. ²⁶ So the God of Israel caused King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser) to invade the land and take away the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as captives. The Assyrians exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River, where they remain to this day.

The Priestly Line

6 ^[b]The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

² The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³ The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

The Levite Clans

^16 [d]The sons of Levi were Gershon,^[e] Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷ The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸ The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹ The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.

The following were the Levite clans, listed according to their ancestral descent:

²⁰ The descendants of Gershon included Libni, Jahath, Zimmah, ²¹ Joah, Iddo, Zerah, and Jeatherai.

²² The descendants of Kohath included Amminadab, Korah, Assir, ²³ Elkanah, Abiasaph,^[f] Assir, ²⁴ Tahath, Uriel, Uzziah, and Shaul.

²⁵ The descendants of Elkanah included Amasai, Ahimoth, ²⁶ Elkanah, Zophai, Nahath, ²⁷ Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah, and Samuel.^[g]

²⁸ The sons of Samuel were Joel^[h] (the older) and Abijah (the second).

²⁹ The descendants of Merari included Mahli, Libni, Shimei, Uzzah, ³⁰ Shimea, Haggiah, and Asaiah.

The Temple Musicians

³¹ David assigned the following men to lead the music at the house of the Lord after the Ark was placed there. ³² They ministered with music at the Tabernacle^[i] until Solomon built the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They carried out their work, following all the regulations handed down to them. ³³ These are the men who served, along with their sons:

Heman the musician was from the clan of Kohath. His genealogy was traced back through Joel, Samuel, ³⁴ Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, ³⁵ Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai, ³⁶ Elkanah, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah, ³⁷ Tahath, Assir, Abiasaph, Korah, ³⁸ Izhar, Kohath, Levi, and Israel.^[j]

³⁹ Heman’s first assistant was Asaph from the clan of Gershon.^[k] Asaph’s genealogy was traced back through Berekiah, Shimea, ⁴⁰ Michael, Baaseiah, Malkijah, ⁴¹ Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah, ⁴² Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei, ⁴³ Jahath, Gershon, and Levi.

⁴⁴ Heman’s second assistant was Ethan from the clan of Merari. Ethan’s genealogy was traced back through Kishi, Abdi, Malluch, ⁴⁵ Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah, ⁴⁶ Amzi, Bani, Shemer, ⁴⁷ Mahli, Mushi, Merari, and Levi.

⁴⁸ Their fellow Levites were appointed to various other tasks in the Tabernacle, the house of God.

Aaron’s Descendants

⁴⁹ Only Aaron and his descendants served as priests. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense, and they performed all the other duties related to the Most Holy Place. They made atonement for Israel by doing everything that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded them.

⁵⁰ The descendants of Aaron were Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, ⁵¹ Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah, ⁵² Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub, ⁵³ Zadok, and Ahimaaz.

Territory for the Levites

⁵⁴ This is a record of the towns and territory assigned by means of sacred lots to the descendants of Aaron, who were from the clan of Kohath. ⁵⁵ This territory included Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands in Judah, ⁵⁶ but the fields and outlying areas belonging to the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷ So the descendants of Aaron were given the following towns, each with its pasturelands: Hebron (a city of refuge),^[l] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, ⁵⁸ Holon,^[m] Debir, ⁵⁹ Ain,^[n] Juttah,^[o] and Beth-shemesh. ⁶⁰ And from the territory of Benjamin they were given Gibeon,^[p] Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, each with its pasturelands. So thirteen towns were given to the descendants of Aaron. ⁶¹ The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten towns from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh by means of sacred lots.

⁶² The descendants of Gershon received by sacred lots thirteen towns from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and from the Bashan area of Manasseh, east of the Jordan.

⁶³ The descendants of Merari received by sacred lots twelve towns from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

⁶⁴ So the people of Israel assigned all these towns and pasturelands to the Levites. ⁶⁵ The towns in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, mentioned above, were assigned to them by means of sacred lots.

⁶⁶ The descendants of Kohath were given the following towns from the territory of Ephraim, each with its pasturelands: ⁶⁷ Shechem (a city of refuge in the hill country of Ephraim),^[q] Gezer, ⁶⁸ Jokmeam, Beth-horon, ⁶⁹ Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. ⁷⁰ The remaining descendants of Kohath were assigned the towns of Aner and Bileam from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands.

⁷¹ The descendants of Gershon received the towns of Golan (in Bashan) and Ashtaroth from the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, each with its pasturelands. ⁷² From the territory of Issachar, they were given Kedesh, Daberath, ⁷³ Ramoth, and Anem, each with its pasturelands. ⁷⁴ From the territory of Asher, they received Mashal, Abdon, ⁷⁵ Hukok, and Rehob, each with its pasturelands. ⁷⁶ From the territory of Naphtali, they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, each with its pasturelands.

⁷⁷ The remaining descendants of Merari received the towns of Jokneam, Kartah,^[r] Rimmon,^[s] and Tabor from the territory of Zebulun, each with its pasturelands. ⁷⁸ From the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, they received Bezer (a desert town), Jahaz,^{[t] 79} Kedemoth, and Mephaath, each with its pasturelands. ⁸⁰ And from the territory of Gad, they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, ⁸¹ Heshbon, and Jazer, each with its pasturelands.

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.”

So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense: ² “I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders, ³ for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!

⁴ “As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵ If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion. ⁶ Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors. ⁷ In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope! ⁸ Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?

⁹ “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.^{[a] 10} Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers^[b] there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. ¹¹ Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus.^[c] I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

¹² “One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. ¹³ About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. ¹⁴ We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,^[d] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.^[e]’

¹⁵ “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. ¹⁶ Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. ¹⁷ And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

¹⁹ “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven. ²⁰ I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do. ²¹ Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me. ²² But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— ²³ that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

²⁴ Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”

²⁵ But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth. ²⁶ And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner! ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”

²⁸ Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”^[f]

²⁹ Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰ Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left. ³¹ As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”

³² And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”

Psalm 6

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.^[a]