2 Kings 16 - 1 Chronicles 7

New Living Translation

Ahaz Rules in Judah

16 Ahaz son of Jotham began to rule over Judah in the seventeenth year of King Pekah’s reign in Israel. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done. ³ Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire.^[a] In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.

⁵ Then King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel came up to attack Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. ⁶ At that time the king of Edom^[b] recovered the town of Elath for Edom.^[c] He drove out the people of Judah and sent Edomites^[d] to live there, as they do to this day.

⁷ King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal.^[e] Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.” ⁸ Then Ahaz took the silver and gold from the Temple of the Lord and the palace treasury and sent it as a payment to the Assyrian king. ⁹ So the king of Assyria attacked the Aramean capital of Damascus and led its population away as captives, resettling them in Kir. He also killed King Rezin.

¹⁰ King Ahaz then went to Damascus to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. While he was there, he took special note of the altar. Then he sent a model of the altar to Uriah the priest, along with its design in full detail. ¹¹ Uriah followed the king’s instructions and built an altar just like it, and it was ready before the king returned from Damascus. ¹² When the king returned, he inspected the altar and made offerings on it. ¹³ He presented a burnt offering and a grain offering, he poured out a liquid offering, and he sprinkled the blood of peace offerings on the altar.

¹⁴ Then King Ahaz removed the old bronze altar from its place in front of the Lord’s Temple, between the entrance and the new altar, and placed it on the north side of the new altar. ¹⁵ He told Uriah the priest, “Use the new altar^[f] for the morning sacrifices of burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, and the burnt offerings of all the people, as well as their grain offerings and liquid offerings. Sprinkle the blood from all the burnt offerings and sacrifices on the new altar. The bronze altar will be for my personal use only.” ¹⁶ Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz commanded him.

¹⁷ Then the king removed the side panels and basins from the portable water carts. He also removed the great bronze basin called the Sea from the backs of the bronze oxen and placed it on the stone pavement. ¹⁸ In deference to the king of Assyria, he also removed the canopy that had been constructed inside the palace for use on the Sabbath day,^[g] as well as the king’s outer entrance to the Temple of the Lord.

¹⁹ The rest of the events in Ahaz’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁰ When Ahaz died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Hezekiah became the next king.

Hoshea Rules in Israel

17 Hoshea son of Elah began to rule over Israel in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria nine years. ² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not to the same extent as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.

³ King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked King Hoshea, so Hoshea was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria. ⁴ But Hoshea stopped paying the annual tribute and conspired against the king of Assyria by asking King So of Egypt^[h] to help him shake free of Assyria’s power. When the king of Assyria discovered this treachery, he seized Hoshea and put him in prison.

Samaria Falls to Assyria

⁵ Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. ⁶ Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria. They were settled in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. ⁸ They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced. ⁹ The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. ¹⁰ They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree. ¹¹ They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the Lord’s anger. ¹² Yes, they worshiped idols,^[i] despite the Lord’s specific and repeated warnings.

¹³ Again and again the Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”

¹⁴ But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the Lord their God. ¹⁵ They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them.

¹⁶ They rejected all the commands of the Lord their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. ¹⁷ They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire.^[j] They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.

¹⁸ Because the Lord was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land. ¹⁹ But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the Lord their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced. ²⁰ The Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence.

²¹ For when the Lord^[k] tore Israel away from the kingdom of David, they chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king. But Jeroboam drew Israel away from following the Lord and made them commit a great sin. ²² And the people of Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these sins ²³ until the Lord finally swept them away from his presence, just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria, where they remain to this day.

Foreigners Settle in Israel

²⁴ The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. ²⁵ But since these foreign settlers did not worship the Lord when they first arrived, the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

²⁶ So a message was sent to the king of Assyria: “The people you have sent to live in the towns of Samaria do not know the religious customs of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them to destroy them because they have not worshiped him correctly.”

²⁷ The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the Lord.

²⁹ But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built. ³⁰ Those from Babylon worshiped idols of their god Succoth-benoth. Those from Cuthah worshiped their god Nergal. And those from Hamath worshiped Ashima. ³¹ The Avvites worshiped their gods Nibhaz and Tartak. And the people from Sepharvaim even burned their own children as sacrifices to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech.

³² These new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship. ³³ And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came. ³⁴ And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.

³⁵ For the Lord had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. ³⁶ But worship only the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him. ³⁷ Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. ³⁸ Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. ³⁹ You must worship only the Lord your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”

⁴⁰ But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices. ⁴¹ So while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.

Hezekiah Rules in Judah

18 Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah,^[l] the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. ⁴ He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.^[m]

⁵ Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. ⁶ He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. ⁷ So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute. ⁸ He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its territory, from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city.

⁹ During the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked the city of Samaria and began a siege against it. ¹⁰ Three years later, during the sixth year of King Hezekiah’s reign and the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, Samaria fell. ¹¹ At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ¹² For they refused to listen to the Lord their God and obey him. Instead, they violated his covenant—all the laws that Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded them to obey.

Assyria Invades Judah

¹³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,^[n] King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. ¹⁴ King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. I will pay whatever tribute money you demand if you will only withdraw.” The king of Assyria then demanded a settlement of more than eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold.^{[o] 15} To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple of the Lord and in the palace treasury. ¹⁶ Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king.

¹⁷ Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of staff^[p] from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.^{[q] 18} They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

¹⁹ Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah:

²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew,^[r] for the people on the wall will hear.”

²⁷ But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”

²⁸ Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! ²⁹ This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power. ³⁰ Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’

³¹ “Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. ³² Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive groves and honey. Choose life instead of death!

“Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ ³³ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? ³⁴ What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? ³⁵ What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?”

³⁶ But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.”

³⁷ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.

Hezekiah Seeks the Lord’s Help

19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord. ² And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ³ They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. ⁴ But perhaps the Lord your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff,^[s] sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”

⁵ After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, ⁶ the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. ⁷ Listen! I myself will move against him,^[t] and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”

⁸ Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.

⁹ Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia^[u] was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message:

¹⁴ After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. ¹⁶ Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.

¹⁷ “It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. ¹⁸ And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. ¹⁹ Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance

²⁰ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria. ²¹ And the Lord has spoken this word against him:

²⁹ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:

³² “And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

³⁵ That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians^[w] woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. ³⁶ Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

³⁷ One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons^[x] Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.

Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

20 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.”

² When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

⁴ But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard,^[y] this message came to him from the Lord: ⁵ “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Make an ointment from figs.” So Hezekiah’s servants spread the ointment over the boil, and Hezekiah recovered!

⁸ Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What sign will the Lord give to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the Temple of the Lord three days from now?”

⁹ Isaiah replied, “This is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised. Would you like the shadow on the sundial to go forward ten steps or backward ten steps?^[z]”

¹⁰ “The shadow always moves forward,” Hezekiah replied, “so that would be easy. Make it go ten steps backward instead.” ¹¹ So Isaiah the prophet asked the Lord to do this, and he caused the shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial^[aa] of Ahaz!

Envoys from Babylon

¹² Soon after this, Merodach-baladan^[ab] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick. ¹³ Hezekiah received the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”

¹⁵ “What did they see in your palace?” Isaiah asked.

“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own—all my royal treasuries.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord: ¹⁷ The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸ Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.”

¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

²⁰ The rest of the events in Hezekiah’s reign, including the extent of his power and how he built a pool and dug a tunnel^[ac] to bring water into the city, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. ²¹ Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh became the next king.

Manasseh Rules in Judah

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. ² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.

⁴ He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ⁵ He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. ⁶ Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire.^[ad] He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.

⁷ Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the Lord had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. ⁸ If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws my servant Moses gave them—I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors.” ⁹ But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said through his servants the prophets: ¹¹ “King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols.^{[ae] 12} So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror. ¹³ I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measure^[af] I used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. ¹⁴ Then I will reject even the remnant of my own people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies. ¹⁵ For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt.”

¹⁶ Manasseh also murdered many innocent people until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he caused the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in the Lord’s sight.

¹⁷ The rest of the events in Manasseh’s reign and everything he did, including the sins he committed, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. ¹⁸ When Manasseh died, he was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon became the next king.

Amon Rules in Judah

¹⁹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz from Jotbah. ²⁰ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. ²¹ He followed the example of his father, worshiping the same idols his father had worshiped. ²² He abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and he refused to follow the Lord’s ways.

²³ Then Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. ²⁴ But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king.

²⁵ The rest of the events in Amon’s reign and what he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁶ He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Josiah became the next king.

Josiah Rules in Judah

22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. ² He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.

³ In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, the court secretary, to the Temple of the Lord. He told him, ⁴ “Go to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at the Lord’s Temple. ⁵ Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the Lord’s Temple. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the Temple. ⁶ They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the Temple. ⁷ But don’t require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they receive, for they are honest and trustworthy men.”

Hilkiah Discovers God’s Law

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.

⁹ Shaphan went to the king and reported, “Your officials have turned over the money collected at the Temple of the Lord to the workers and supervisors at the Temple.” ¹⁰ Shaphan also told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” So Shaphan read it to the king.

¹¹ When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. ¹² Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal adviser: ¹³ “Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the Lord’s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.”

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter^[ag] of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.

¹⁵ She said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken! Go back and tell the man who sent you, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this city^[ah] and its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true. ¹⁷ For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will burn against this place, and it will not be quenched.’

¹⁸ “But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the Lord and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard: ¹⁹ You were sorry and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said against this city and its people—that this land would be cursed and become desolate. You tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the Lord. ²⁰ So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city.’”

So they took her message back to the king.

Josiah’s Religious Reforms

23 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. ³ The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

⁴ Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the Lord’s Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel. ⁵ He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens. ⁶ The king removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the people. ⁷ He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of the Lord, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole.

⁸ Josiah brought to Jerusalem all the priests who were living in other towns of Judah. He also defiled the pagan shrines, where they had offered sacrifices—all the way from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city. ⁹ The priests who had served at the pagan shrines were not allowed to serve at^[ai] the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests.

¹⁰ Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire^[aj] as an offering to Molech. ¹¹ He removed from the entrance of the Lord’s Temple the horse statues that the former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch, an officer of the court.^[ak] The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.

¹² Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. He smashed them to bits^[al] and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley. ¹³ The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech,^[am] the vile god of the Ammonites. ¹⁴ He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.

¹⁵ The king also tore down the altar at Bethel—the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole. ¹⁶ Then Josiah turned around and noticed several tombs in the side of the hill. He ordered that the bones be brought out, and he burned them on the altar at Bethel to desecrate it. (This happened just as the Lord had promised through the man of God when Jeroboam stood beside the altar at the festival.)

Then Josiah turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of God^[an] who had predicted these things. ¹⁷ “What is that monument over there?” Josiah asked.

And the people of the town told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted the very things that you have just done to the altar at Bethel!”

¹⁸ Josiah replied, “Leave it alone. Don’t disturb his bones.” So they did not burn his bones or those of the old prophet from Samaria.

¹⁹ Then Josiah demolished all the buildings at the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria, just as he had done at Bethel. They had been built by the various kings of Israel and had made the Lord^[ao] very angry. ²⁰ He executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Celebrates Passover

²¹ King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.” ²² There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

²⁴ Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols,^[ap] and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the Lord’s Temple. ²⁵ Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

²⁶ Even so, the Lord was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him. ²⁷ For the Lord said, “I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored.”

²⁸ The rest of the events in Josiah’s reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.

²⁹ While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah and his army marched out to fight him,^[aq] but King Neco^[ar] killed him when they met at Megiddo. ³⁰ Josiah’s officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land anointed Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him the next king.

Jehoahaz Rules in Judah

³¹ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ³² He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestors had done.

³³ Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him from ruling^[as] in Jerusalem. He also demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold^[at] as tribute.

Jehoiakim Rules in Judah

³⁴ Pharaoh Neco then installed Eliakim, another of Josiah’s sons, to reign in place of his father, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner, where he died.

³⁵ In order to get the silver and gold demanded as tribute by Pharaoh Neco, Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people of Judah, requiring them to pay in proportion to their wealth.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. ³⁷ He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestors had done.

24 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled. ² Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian,^[au] Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised through his prophets. ³ These disasters happened to Judah because of the Lord’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, ⁴ who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The Lord would not forgive this.

⁵ The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. ⁶ When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king.

⁷ The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt—from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin Rules in Judah

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. ⁹ Jehoiachin did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ During Jehoiachin’s reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. ¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege. ¹² Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians.

In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace. He stripped away^[av] all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple. ¹⁴ King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem’s elite. ¹⁶ He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war. ¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s^[aw] uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ¹⁹ But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ These things happened because of the Lord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile.

The Fall of Jerusalem

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25 So on January 15,^[ax] during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. ² Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.

³ By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign,^[ay] the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. ⁴ Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians,^[az] the soldiers waited for nightfall and escaped^[ba] through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley.^[bb]

⁵ But the Babylonian^[bc] troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. ⁶ They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. ⁷ They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.

The Temple Destroyed

⁸ On August 14 of that year,^[bd] which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. ⁹ He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings^[be] in the city. ¹⁰ Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. ¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. ¹² But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.

¹³ The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. ¹⁴ They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. ¹⁵ The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.

¹⁶ The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord’s Temple in the days of Solomon. ¹⁷ Each of the pillars was 27 feet^[bf] tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1⁄2 feet^[bg] high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.

¹⁸ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers. ¹⁹ And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

²² Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah. ²³ When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jezaniah^[bh] son of the Maacathite, and all their men.

²⁴ Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.

²⁵ But in midautumn of that year,^[bi] Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.

²⁶ Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

²⁷ In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to^[bj] Jehoiachin and released him^[bk] from prison on April 2 of that year.^{[bl] 28} He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon. ²⁹ He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. ³⁰ So the king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.

From Adam to Noah’s Sons

1 The descendants of Adam were Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ and Noah.

The sons of Noah were^[bm] Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Descendants of Japheth

⁵ The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

⁶ The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath,^[bn] and Togarmah.

⁷ The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.

Descendants of Ham

⁸ The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim,^[bo] Put, and Canaan.

⁹ The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. ¹⁰ Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth.

¹¹ Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, ¹² Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines came.^[bp]

¹³ Canaan’s oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites,^{[bq] 14} Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, ¹⁵ Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, ¹⁶ Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.

Descendants of Shem

¹⁷ The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

The descendants of Aram were^[br] Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.^[bs]

¹⁸ Arphaxad was the father of Shelah.

Shelah was the father of Eber.

¹⁹ Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother’s name was Joktan.

²⁰ Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²¹ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²² Obal,^[bt] Abimael, Sheba, ²³ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan.

²⁴ So this is the family line descended from Shem: Arphaxad, Shelah,^{[bu] 25} Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶ Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷ and Abram, later known as Abraham.

Descendants of Abraham

²⁸ The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. ²⁹ These are their genealogical records:

The sons of Ishmael were Nebaioth (the oldest), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ³⁰ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, ³¹ Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.

³² The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.

³³ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

All these were descendants of Abraham through his concubine Keturah.

Descendants of Isaac

³⁴ Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.^[bv]

Descendants of Esau

³⁵ The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

³⁶ The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho,^[bw] Gatam, Kenaz, and Amalek, who was born to Timna.^[bx]

³⁷ The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

Original Peoples of Edom

³⁸ The descendants of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

³⁹ The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Hemam.^[by] Lotan’s sister was named Timna.

⁴⁰ The descendants of Shobal were Alvan,^[bz] Manahath, Ebal, Shepho,^[ca] and Onam.

The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah.

⁴¹ The son of Anah was Dishon.

The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan,^[cb] Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

⁴² The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.^[cc]

The descendants of Dishan^[cd] were Uz and Aran.

Rulers of Edom

⁴³ These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites^[ce]:

Bela son of Beor, who ruled from his city of Dinhabah.

⁴⁴ When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king in his place.

⁴⁵ When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king in his place.

⁴⁶ When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who destroyed the Midianite army in the land of Moab.

⁴⁷ When Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became king in his place.

⁴⁸ When Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became king in his place.

⁴⁹ When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became king in his place.

⁵⁰ When Baal-hanan died, Hadad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Pau.^[cf] His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. ⁵¹ Then Hadad died.

The clan leaders of Edom were Timna, Alvah,^[cg] Jetheth, ⁵² Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁵³ Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁵⁴ Magdiel, and Iram. These are the clan leaders of Edom.

Descendants of Israel

2 The sons of Israel^[ch] were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Descendants of Judah

³ Judah had three sons from Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the Lord saw that the oldest son, Er, was a wicked man, so he killed him. ⁴ Later Judah had twin sons from Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law. Their names were Perez and Zerah. So Judah had five sons in all.

⁵ The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

⁶ The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda^[ci]—five in all.

⁷ The son of Carmi (a descendant of Zimri) was Achan,^[cj] who brought disaster on Israel by taking plunder that had been set apart for the Lord.^[ck]

⁸ The son of Ethan was Azariah.

From Judah’s Grandson Hezron to David

⁹ The sons of Hezron were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.^[cl]

¹³ Jesse’s first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, ¹⁴ his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, ¹⁵ his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David.

Other Descendants of Hezron

¹⁸ Hezron’s son Caleb had sons from his wife Azubah and from Jerioth.^[cn] Her sons were named Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹ After Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrathah,^[co] and they had a son named Hur. ²⁰ Hur was the father of Uri. Uri was the father of Bezalel.

²¹ When Hezron was sixty years old, he married Gilead’s sister, the daughter of Makir. They had a son named Segub. ²² Segub was the father of Jair, who ruled twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead. ²³ (But Geshur and Aram captured the Towns of Jair^[cp] and also took Kenath and its sixty surrounding villages.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

²⁴ Soon after Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah, his wife Abijah gave birth to a son named Ashhur (the father of^[cq] Tekoa).

Descendants of Hezron’s Son Jerahmeel

²⁵ The sons of Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, were Ram (the firstborn), Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. ²⁶ Jerahmeel had a second wife named Atarah. She was the mother of Onam.

²⁷ The sons of Ram, the oldest son of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

²⁸ The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.

The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur.

²⁹ The sons of Abishur and his wife Abihail were Ahban and Molid.

³⁰ The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children, ³¹ but Appaim had a son named Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. Sheshan had a descendant named Ahlai.

³² The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children, ³³ but Jonathan had two sons named Peleth and Zaza.

These were all descendants of Jerahmeel.

³⁴ Sheshan had no sons, though he did have daughters. He also had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. ³⁵ Sheshan gave one of his daughters to be the wife of Jarha, and they had a son named Attai.

Descendants of Hezron’s Son Caleb

⁴² The descendants of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, included Mesha (the firstborn), who became the father of Ziph. Caleb’s descendants also included the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron.^[cr]

⁴³ The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴ Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. ⁴⁵ The son of Shammai was Maon. Maon was the father of Beth-zur.

⁴⁶ Caleb’s concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.

⁴⁷ The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.

⁴⁸ Another of Caleb’s concubines, Maacah, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹ She also gave birth to Shaaph (the father of Madmannah) and Sheva (the father of Macbenah and Gibea). Caleb also had a daughter named Acsah.

⁵⁰ These were all descendants of Caleb.

Descendants of Caleb’s Son Hur

The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Caleb’s wife Ephrathah, were Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim), ⁵¹ Salma (the founder of Bethlehem), and Hareph (the founder of Beth-gader).

⁵² The descendants of Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim) were Haroeh, half the Manahathites, ⁵³ and the families of Kiriath-jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites, from whom came the people of Zorah and Eshtaol.

⁵⁴ The descendants of Salma were the people of Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, the other half of the Manahathites, the Zorites, ⁵⁵ and the families of scribes living at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. All these were Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the family of Recab.^[cs]

Descendants of David

3 These are the sons of David who were born in Hebron:

⁴ These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven and a half years.

Then David reigned another thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ⁵ The sons born to David in Jerusalem included Shammua,^[ct] Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. Their mother was Bathsheba,^[cu] the daughter of Ammiel. ⁶ David also had nine other sons: Ibhar, Elishua,^[cv] Elpelet,^{[cw] 7} Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

⁹ These were the sons of David, not including his sons born to his concubines. Their sister was named Tamar.

Descendants of Solomon

¹⁰ The descendants of Solomon were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, ¹¹ Jehoram,^[cx] Ahaziah, Joash, ¹² Amaziah, Uzziah,^[cy] Jotham, ¹³ Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, ¹⁴ Amon, and Josiah.

¹⁵ The sons of Josiah were Johanan (the oldest), Jehoiakim (the second), Zedekiah (the third), and Jehoahaz^[cz] (the fourth).

¹⁶ The successors of Jehoiakim were his son Jehoiachin and his brother Zedekiah.^[da]

Descendants of Jehoiachin

¹⁷ The sons of Jehoiachin,^[db] who was taken prisoner by the Babylonians, were Shealtiel, ¹⁸ Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

¹⁹ The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei.

The sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah. (Their sister was Shelomith.) ²⁰ His five other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed.

²¹ The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. Jeshaiah’s son was Rephaiah. Rephaiah’s son was Arnan. Arnan’s son was Obadiah. Obadiah’s son was Shecaniah.

²² The descendants of Shecaniah were Shemaiah and his sons, Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat—six in all.

²³ The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam—three in all.

²⁴ The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani—seven in all.

Other Descendants of Judah

4 The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

² Shobal’s son Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.

³ The descendants of^[dc] Etam were Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, their sister Hazzelelponi, ⁴ Penuel (the father of^[dd] Gedor), and Ezer (the father of Hushah). These were the descendants of Hur (the firstborn of Ephrathah), the ancestor of Bethlehem.

⁵ Ashhur (the father of Tekoa) had two wives, named Helah and Naarah. ⁶ Naarah gave birth to Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. ⁷ Helah gave birth to Zereth, Izhar,^[de] Ethnan, ⁸ and Koz, who became the ancestor of Anub, Zobebah, and all the families of Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹ There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez^[df] because his birth had been so painful. ¹⁰ He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

¹¹ Kelub (the brother of Shuhah) was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir-nahash. These were the descendants of Recah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai.^{[dg] 14} Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of the Valley of Craftsmen,^[dh] so called because they were craftsmen.

¹⁵ The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz.

¹⁶ The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

¹⁷ The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives became^[di] the mother of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa). ¹⁸ He married a woman from Judah, who became the mother of Jered (the father of Gedor), Heber (the father of Soco), and Jekuthiel (the father of Zanoah). Mered also married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh, and she bore him children.

¹⁹ Hodiah’s wife was the sister of Naham. One of her sons was the father of Keilah the Garmite, and another was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

²⁰ The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.

The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.

Descendants of Judah’s Son Shelah

²¹ Shelah was one of Judah’s sons. The descendants of Shelah were Er (the father of Lecah); Laadah (the father of Mareshah); the families of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; ²² Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-lehem. These names all come from ancient records. ²³ They were the pottery makers who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They lived there and worked for the king.

Descendants of Simeon

²⁴ The sons of Simeon were Jemuel,^[dj] Jamin, Jarib, Zohar,^[dk] and Shaul.

²⁵ The descendants of Shaul were Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma.

²⁶ The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei.

²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had large families. So Simeon’s tribe never grew as large as the tribe of Judah.

²⁸ They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, ²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰ Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These towns were under their control until the time of King David. ³² Their descendants also lived in Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan—five towns ³³ and their surrounding villages as far away as Baalath.^[dl] This was their territory, and these names are listed in their genealogical records.

³⁴ Other descendants of Simeon included Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, ³⁵ Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, ³⁶ Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷ and Ziza son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah.

³⁸ These were the names of some of the leaders of Simeon’s wealthy clans. Their families grew, ³⁹ and they traveled to the region of Gerar,^[dm] in the east part of the valley, seeking pastureland for their flocks. ⁴⁰ They found lush pastures there, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful.

Some of Ham’s descendants had been living in that region. ⁴¹ But during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, these leaders of Simeon invaded the region and completely destroyed^[dn] the homes of the descendants of Ham and of the Meunites. No trace of them remains today. They killed everyone who lived there and took the land for themselves, because they wanted its good pastureland for their flocks. ⁴² Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel—all sons of Ishi. ⁴³ They destroyed the few Amalekites who had survived, and they have lived there ever since.

Descendants of Reuben

5 The oldest son of Israel^[do] was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son. ² The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation,^[dp] but the birthright belonged to Joseph.

³ The sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴ The descendants of Joel were Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei, ⁵ Micah, Reaiah, Baal, ⁶ and Beerah. Beerah was the leader of the Reubenites when they were taken into captivity by King Tiglath-pileser^[dq] of Assyria.

⁷ Beerah’s^[dr] relatives are listed in their genealogical records by their clans: Jeiel (the leader), Zechariah, ⁸ and Bela son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel.

The Reubenites lived in the area that stretches from Aroer to Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹ And since they had so many livestock in the land of Gilead, they spread east toward the edge of the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River.

¹⁰ During the reign of Saul, the Reubenites defeated the Hagrites in battle. Then they moved into the Hagrite settlements all along the eastern edge of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

¹¹ Next to the Reubenites, the descendants of Gad lived in the land of Bashan as far east as Salecah. ¹² Joel was the leader in the land of Bashan, and Shapham was second-in-command, followed by Janai and Shaphat.

¹³ Their relatives, the leaders of seven other clans, were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. ¹⁴ These were all descendants of Abihail son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the leader of their clans.

¹⁶ The Gadites lived in the land of Gilead, in Bashan and its villages, and throughout all the pasturelands of Sharon. ¹⁷ All of these were listed in the genealogical records during the days of King Jotham of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel.

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,^[ds] 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 ^[dt]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 [dv]The sons of Levi were Gershon,^[dw] 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,^[dx] 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.^[dy]

²⁸ The sons of Samuel were Joel^[dz] (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^[ea] 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.^[eb]

³⁹ Heman’s first assistant was Asaph from the clan of Gershon.^[ec] 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),^[ed] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, ⁵⁸ Holon,^[ee] Debir, ⁵⁹ Ain,^[ef] Juttah,^[eg] and Beth-shemesh. ⁶⁰ And from the territory of Benjamin they were given Gibeon,^[eh] 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),^[ei] 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,^[ej] Rimmon,^[ek] 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,^{[el] 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.

Descendants of Issachar

7 The four sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

² The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. At the time of King David, the total number of mighty warriors listed in the records of these clans was 22,600.

³ The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. These five became the leaders of clans. ⁴ All of them had many wives and many sons, so the total number of men available for military service among their descendants was 36,000.

⁵ The total number of mighty warriors from all the clans of the tribe of Issachar was 87,000. All of them were listed in their genealogical records.

Descendants of Benjamin

⁶ Three of Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, and Jediael.

⁷ The five sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors from these clans was 22,034, as listed in their genealogical records.

⁸ The sons of Beker were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. ⁹ Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. The total number of mighty warriors and leaders from these clans was 20,200, as listed in their genealogical records.

¹⁰ The son of Jediael was Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹ Each of them was the leader of an ancestral clan. From these clans the total number of mighty warriors ready for war was 17,200.

¹² The sons of Ir were Shuppim and Huppim. Hushim was the son of Aher.

Descendants of Naphtali

¹³ The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel,^[em] Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.^[en] They were all descendants of Jacob’s concubine Bilhah.

Descendants of Manasseh

¹⁴ The descendants of Manasseh through his Aramean concubine included Asriel. She also bore Makir, the father of Gilead. ¹⁵ Makir found wives for^[eo] Huppim and Shuppim. Makir had a sister named Maacah. One of his descendants was Zelophehad, who had only daughters.

¹⁶ Makir’s wife, Maacah, gave birth to a son whom she named Peresh. His brother’s name was Sheresh. The sons of Peresh were Ulam and Rakem. ¹⁷ The son of Ulam was Bedan. All these were considered Gileadites, descendants of Makir son of Manasseh.

¹⁸ Makir’s sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.

¹⁹ The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Descendants of Ephraim

²⁰ The descendants of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, ²¹ Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. These two were killed trying to steal livestock from the local farmers near Gath. ²² Their father, Ephraim, mourned for them a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. ²³ Afterward Ephraim slept with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim named him Beriah^[ep] because of the tragedy his family had suffered. ²⁴ He had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah.

²⁵ The descendants of Ephraim included Rephah, Resheph, Telah, Tahan, ²⁶ Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, ²⁷ Nun, and Joshua.

²⁸ The descendants of Ephraim lived in the territory that included Bethel and its surrounding towns to the south, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its surrounding villages to the north as far as Ayyah and its towns. ²⁹ Along the border of Manasseh were the towns of Beth-shan,^[eq] Taanach, Megiddo, Dor, and their surrounding villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel^[er] lived in these towns.

Descendants of Asher

³⁰ The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. They had a sister named Serah.

³¹ The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel (the father of Birzaith).

³² The sons of Heber were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. They had a sister named Shua.

³³ The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath.

³⁴ The sons of Shomer were Ahi,^[es] Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.

³⁵ The sons of his brother Helem^[et] were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.

³⁶ The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, ³⁷ Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran,^[eu] and Beera.

³⁸ The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.

³⁹ The sons of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.

⁴⁰ Each of these descendants of Asher was the head of an ancestral clan. They were all select men—mighty warriors and outstanding leaders. The total number of men available for military service was 26,000, as listed in their genealogical records.