Beginning

The People Who Returned from Captivity

9 All the people of Israel were listed according to their families, and this information was recorded in The book of the Kings of Israel.

The people of Judah had been deported to Babylon as punishment for their sins. ^2 (A)The first to return to their property in the cities included Israelite citizens, priests, Levites, and Temple workers. ³ People from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh went to live in Jerusalem.

^4-6 There were 690 families of the tribe of Judah who lived in Jerusalem.

The descendants of Judah's son Perez had as their leader Uthai, the son of Ammihud and grandson of Omri. His other ancestors included Imri and Bani.

The descendants of Judah's son Shelah had as their leader Asaiah, who was the head of his family.

The descendants of Judah's son Zerah had Jeuel as their leader.

^7-8 The following members of the tribe of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem:

⁹ There were 956 families of this tribe living there. All the men named above were heads of families.

The Priests Who Lived in Jerusalem

^10-12 The following priests lived in Jerusalem:

¹³ The priests who were heads of families totaled 1,760. They were experts in all the work carried on in the Temple.

The Levites Who Lived in Jerusalem

^14-16 The following Levites lived in Jerusalem:

The Temple Guards Who Lived in Jerusalem

¹⁷ The following Temple guards lived in Jerusalem: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸ Down to that time members of their clans had been stationed at the eastern entrance to the King's Gate.^[a] Formerly they had stood guard at the gates to the camps of the Levites.

¹⁹ Shallum, the son of Kore and grandson of Ebiasaph, together with his fellow members of the clan of Korah, was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Tent of the Lord's presence, just as their ancestors had been when they were in charge of the Lord's camp. ²⁰ Phinehas son of Eleazar—may the Lord be with him!—had supervised them at one time.

²¹ Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was also a guard at the entrance to the Tent of the Lord's presence.

²² In all, 212 men were chosen as guards for the entrances and gates. They were registered according to the villages where they lived. It was King David and the prophet Samuel who had put their ancestors in these responsible positions. ²³ They and their descendants continued to guard the gates to the Temple. ²⁴ There was a gate facing in each direction, north, south, east, and west, and each had a chief guard. ²⁵ These guards were assisted by their relatives, who lived in the villages and who had to take turns at guard duty for seven days at a time. ²⁶ The four chief guards were Levites and had the final responsibility. They were also responsible for the rooms in the Temple and for the supplies kept there. ²⁷ They lived near the Temple, because it was their duty to guard it and to open the gates every morning.

The Other Levites

²⁸ Other Levites were responsible for the utensils used in worship. They checked them out and checked them back in every time they were used. ²⁹ Others were in charge of the other sacred equipment, and of the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices. ³⁰ But the responsibility for mixing the spices belonged to the priests.

³¹ A Levite named Mattithiah, oldest son of Shallum, of the clan of Korah, was responsible for preparing the baked offerings.^{[b] 32} Members of the clan of Kohath were responsible for preparing the sacred bread^[c] for the Temple every Sabbath.

³³ Some Levite families were responsible for the Temple music. The heads of these families lived in some of the Temple buildings and were free from other duties, because they were on call day and night.

³⁴ The men named above were heads of Levite families, according to their ancestral lines. They were the leaders who lived in Jerusalem.

The Ancestors and Descendants of King Saul^(B)

³⁵ Jeiel founded the city of Gibeon and settled there. His wife was named Maacah. ³⁶ His oldest son was Abdon, and his other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth, ³⁸ the father of Shimeah. Their descendants lived in Jerusalem near other families of their clan.

³⁹ Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of Saul. Saul had four sons: Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.^{[d] 40} Jonathan was the father of Meribbaal,^[e] who was the father of Micah. ⁴¹ Micah had four sons: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.^{[f] 42} Ahaz was the father of Jarah, who was the father of three sons: Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza, ⁴³ Moza the father of Binea, Binea of Rephaiah, Rephaiah of Eleasah, and Eleasah of Azel.

⁴⁴ Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.

The Death of King Saul^(C)

10 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled. ² But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded. ⁴ He said to the young man carrying his weapons, “Draw your sword and kill me, to keep these godless Philistines from gloating over me.” But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. ⁵ The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his sword and died. ⁶ So Saul and his three sons all died together, and none of his descendants ever ruled. ⁷ When the Israelites who lived in Jezreel Valley heard that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and ran off. Then the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸ The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people. ¹⁰ They put his weapons in one of their temples and hung his head in the temple of their god Dagon. ¹¹ When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² the bravest men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and took them to Jabesh. They buried them there under an oak and fasted for seven days.

^13 (D)Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He disobeyed the Lord's commands; he tried to find guidance by consulting the spirits of the dead ¹⁴ instead of consulting the Lord. So the Lord killed him and gave control of the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

David Becomes King of Israel and Judah^(E)

11 All the people of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord your God promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

^4 (F)King David and all the Israelites went and attacked the city of Jerusalem. It was then known as Jebus, and the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were still living there. ⁵ The Jebusites told David he would never get inside the city, but David captured their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City.” ⁶ David said, “The first man to kill a Jebusite will be commander of the army!” Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, led the attack and became commander. ⁷ Because David went to live in the fortress, it came to be called “David's City.” ⁸ He rebuilt the city, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David grew stronger and stronger, because the Lord Almighty was with him.

David's Famous Soldiers^(G)

¹⁰ This is the list of David's famous soldiers. Together with the rest of the people of Israel, they helped him become king, as the Lord had promised, and they kept his kingdom strong.

¹¹ First was Jashobeam of the clan of Hachmon, the leader of “The Three.”^[g] He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them all in one battle. ¹² Next among the famous “Three” was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh. ¹³ He fought on David's side against the Philistines at the battle of Pas Dammim. He was in a barley field when the Israelites started to run away, ¹⁴ so he and his men took a stand in the middle of the field and fought the Philistines. The Lord gave him a great victory.

¹⁵ One day three of the thirty leading soldiers went to a rock where David was staying near Adullam Cave, while a band of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley. ¹⁶ At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David got homesick and said, “How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the Lord ¹⁹ and said, “I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it. These were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.

²⁰ Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of “The Famous Thirty.”^[h] He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and became famous among “The Thirty.”^{[i] 21} He was the most famous of “The Thirty”^[j] and became their leader, but he was not as famous as “The Three.”

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel was a famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man seven and a half feet tall, who was armed with a gigantic spear. Benaiah attacked him with a club, snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with it. ²⁴ Those were the brave deeds of Benaiah, who was one of “The Thirty.”^{[k] 25} He was outstanding among “The Thirty,” but not as famous as “The Three.” David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

^26-47 These are the other outstanding soldiers: