Beginning
9 All the tribes of Israel were recorded in the book of the kings of Israel; then Judah was exiled to Babylon for their unfaithfulness to God.
It might seem strange that the Jews’ genealogy continues seamlessly from pre-exilic Judah and Israel to their return home, especially since the generations of people who live in exile are lost from the list. But it is important that those who return, who become known as “Jews” while they are exiled in Babylon, are connected to the Israelites. The Jews are the continuation of God’s covenant, so they should remember the long history of faithful ancestors and use them as examples in building the new Israel.
2 At the end of our exile, the first people who returned to their cities were Israelites, Levites, the priests and the temple servants.
3 Some people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem: 4 Uthai the son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, son of Perez, son of Judah. 5 From the Shilonites were Asaiah (the firstborn) and his sons. 6 From the Zerahites were Jeuel and 690 relatives. 7 From the Benjaminites were Sallu (son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah), 8 Ibneiah (son of Jeroham), Elah (son of Uzzi, son of Michri), Meshullam (son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah), 9 and 956 relatives. All these were leaders of their clans.
10 From the priests were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, 11 Azariah (son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub—the chief officer of the temple), 12 Adaiah (son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah), Maasai (son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer), 13 and their chiefs. These men totaled 1,760 workers in the temple. These were all talented men fit for service in the temple.
14 The Levites who returned included Shemaiah (son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Merari), 15 Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, Mattaniah (son of Mica, son of Zichri, son of Asaph), 16 Obadiah (son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun), and Berechiah (son of Asa, son of Elkanah). They lived among the Netophathites.[a]
17-18 The gatekeepers, who guarded the entrances and performed other daily chores, were Shallum (stationed at the king’s gate in the east), Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. 19 These were the gatekeepers for the congregation tent and monitored activities there (as their fathers had ruled the camp of the Eternal One as keepers of the entrance): Shallum (son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah) and his fellow Korahites. 20 Phinehas (son of Eleazar) ruled them previously, and the Eternal was with him. 21 Zechariah (son of Meshelemiah) was gatekeeper at the entrance of the congregation tent. 22 All the men who were gatekeepers numbered 212. They were recorded in the local genealogies and were chosen by King David and the seer Samuel.
23 They and their sons guarded the gates of the temple and the congregation tent. 24 The gatekeepers were stationed on all sides: to the north, south, east, and west. 25 Their relatives joined the gatekeepers once per week to keep them company. 26 The four chief gatekeepers (who were Levites) had the important task of controlling the chambers and treasuries in the temple. 27 Because guarding was their primary task, they spent their nights watching the temple and opened it each morning. 28 Others were in charge of the vessels of service; the vessels were counted as they were brought into and taken out of the temple. 29 Still others were in charge of the sanctuary’s furniture and utensils, and of the flour, wine, oil, frankincense, and spices. 30 Some of the sons of the priests mixed these spices. 31 Mattithiah (a Levite and the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite) was responsible for things baked in pans for offerings. 32 Some of their Kohathite relatives baked the unleavened bread used as showbread every sabbath. 33 These are the singers, the chiefs of the Levites during their own generations, who lived in the chambers of the temple in Jerusalem free from other service because they worked day and night. 34 All these men were the chiefs of the Levites during their own generations, and they all lived in Jerusalem.
All priests may be Levites, but not all Levites are priests. Priests are descendants of Aaron, Israel’s first high priest, and perform sacrifices in the temple. Levites who are descendants of the other Levite patriarchs perform all the other duties necessary in the temple; they are elders, custodians, musicians, assistants, handymen, gatekeepers, treasurers, etc. All jobs are equally necessary to the functioning of the temple, so no one of them should be more highly regarded than another. Even the high priest is no more important than the young Levite who sweeps the floor every day.
35 Jeiel (the leader of Gibeon) lived in Gibeon with his wife Maacah. 36 Their firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. 38 Mikloth fathered Shimeam. These lived with their relatives in Jerusalem, across from their other relatives. 39 Ner fathered Kish, whose son was Saul (father of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal). 40 Jonathan’s son was Merib-baal, and Merib-baal’s son was Micah. 41 Micah fathered Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. 42 Ahaz’s son was Jarah, who fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza, 43 whose lineage descended four generations: Binea, Rephaiah, Eleasah, and Azel. 44 Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.
Having explained how the Israelites and the postexilic Jews are part of the same family with this extensive genealogy, the chronicler now presents a narrative about the most glorious period of Israel’s history: the united kingdom. It is in kings David and Solomon that the returning Jews are to find inspiration to rebuild their nation and follow their God.
10 At the end of Saul’s reign as king of Israel, the Philistines attacked Israel. The Israelites fled from the Philistines and were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 As the Philistines tracked Saul and his sons, they killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua. 3 The fighting was heavy around Saul. Their archers caught up with Saul and wounded him.
Saul (commanding his armor bearer): 4 Draw your sword and kill me; otherwise these pagans will capture me and mutilate my body.
But the armor bearer was afraid to kill his king, so Saul committed suicide, falling on his own sword. 5 When the armor bearer saw Saul’s body, he also committed suicide, falling on his own sword. 6 It was at this battle that Saul, his three sons, and his household were annihilated.
7 When the Israelites remaining in the valley realized their kinsmen had fled and Saul and his sons were dead, they also left their cities and fled. The conquering Philistines then inhabited these conquered cities of Israel. 8 The next day, when the Philistines returned to the battlefield to rob the dead, they found Saul and his sons slain on Mount Gilboa. 9 So the Philistines stripped Saul and sent his head and armor throughout Philistia, announcing their victory to their gods and to the people. 10 They put Saul’s armor in their gods’ temples and mounted his head in the temple of Dagon.
A prominent god whom the Philistines worship is Dagon. They believe he brings rain, which in turn is vital to the crops, and thus makes life possible in their land.
11 When Jabesh-gilead heard how the Philistines desecrated Saul’s remains, 12 the heroic men buried the bodies of their king and his sons under the oak tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days.
13-14 Because Saul disobeyed the Eternal One and trusted in the counsel of a medium instead, he died at the Eternal’s hand; and the Eternal gave the kingdom to the great king David, son of Jesse.
11 Then the Israelites found David at Hebron and acknowledged him as their king.
Israelites: Certainly we are your family, your flesh and blood. 2 You have always guided and protected Israel, even when Saul was our king and it was not your responsibility, because the Eternal your God decided, “You will be the shepherd of My people Israel, the prince over all of them.”[b]
3 So all the elders of Israel came to coronate their king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them that the Eternal One witnessed; and they anointed him king over Israel, as the Eternal had commanded them to do through the seer, Samuel.
4 Then David and his subjects traveled from Hebron to Jebus, which is now known as Jerusalem, where the Jebusites lived. 5 The Jebusites threatened David, “You shall not pass through these gates.” Nevertheless David captured the stronghold (Zion), now known as the city of David, and made it his capital.
David uses this conquest to identify his best warriors.
David (challenging the men): 6 The first man who kills a Jebusite will be rewarded with the rank of chief and commander.
Joab (a son of Zeruiah) won the challenge, attacking first and becoming a chief. 7 After the conquest David lived in Zion, so it became known as the “city of David.” 8 He fortified the city with earthen ramparts while Joab repaired the damages caused by the conquest. 9 David, along with the city, grew in power because the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies supported him.
King David chooses Jerusalem as his capital for political and military reasons. Resting between Benjamin and Judah, it is not located within any of the twelve tribes’ borders, making it politically neutral. No one can say that David is showing preference to one tribe over another by locating his capital—and the center of the Israelite religion—within one tribe’s borders. And there is a very good reason the Jebusite city remained unconquered by any Israelite tribe when all other Canaanite cities had fallen, a reason that further justifies David’s selection of the city: Sitting on a high ridge, Jerusalem is easy to defend. Its very location will help save it from future invaders, such as the Assyrians, when other Israelite cities fall.
10 These are leaders of the warriors whom David commanded. They and the citizens of Israel supported him in his rule, as the Eternal desired for Israel when He chose David as king. 11 So what follows is an accounting of David’s great warriors. Jashobeam (son of a Hachmonite) was the chief of 30,[c] the highest-ranking officers in David’s army. He slaughtered 300 men in one battle with his spear.
12 Second in command was Eleazar (son of Dodo the Ahohite), who was one of three notable warriors. 13 He fought alongside David in a barley field called Pasdammim when the people fled from the Philistines. 14 Together they repelled the Philistines from the field, and the Eternal delivered them from the Philistines with a great victory.
15 Three other of the 30 chiefs pursued the Philistines to their camp in the valley of Rephaim (between Jerusalem and Bethlehem). These other chiefs waited with David in a rocky area of the cave of Adullam, west of Bethlehem. 16 While David was in his stronghold and the Philistine garrison was in Bethlehem, 17 the king was very thirsty.
David: Could someone bring me water from the well of Bethlehem, which is near the gate of the city where the Philistines are waiting?
18 The three warriors broke through the Philistine camp in the valley of Rephaim, drew water from the well of Bethlehem near the gate, and took it to David. In spite of his thirst, David would not drink it. Instead he poured it out as an offering to the Eternal One.
David: 19 How could I drink this water with God watching me? I could not drink the blood of my three strong warriors who risked their lives to bring it to me, so I will not benefit from their sacrifice.
20 Abshai, Joab’s brother and leader of these 30,[d] slaughtered 300 men in one battle with his spear and made a notable name for himself. 21 Of the three in the second rank, Abshai was the most honored and became their commander, but he was never promoted to the highest rank.
22 Benaiah (son of Jehoiada, son of a warrior of Kabzeel) performed great deeds—he killed the two warriors of Moab, killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day, 23 and killed a seven-foot-six-inch-tall Egyptian, who carried a curved spear (the size and shape of a weaver’s beam). Benaiah attacked this Egyptian with a club, stole the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with the same spear. 24 Because of these great deeds, Benaiah (Jehoiada’s son) had a powerful reputation equal to that of the three mighty men. 25 He was honored among the 30, but he did not achieve the status of the three. Because of Benaiah’s effectiveness in battle, David appointed him captain of the king’s guard.
26 The warriors of the armies were Asahel (another brother of Joab), Elhanan (son of Dodo of Bethlehem), 27 Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, 28 Ira (son of Ikkesh the Tekoite), Abiezer the Anathothite, 29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, 30 Maharai the Netophathite, Heled (son of Baanah the Netophathite), 31 Ithai (son of Ribai of Gibeah the Benjaminite), Benaiah the Pirathonite, 32 Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, 33 Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, 34 the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan (son of Shagee the Hararite), 35 Ahiam (son of Sacar the Hararite), Eliphal (son of Ur), 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, 37 Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai (son of Ezbai), 38 Joel (brother of Nathan), Mibhar (son of Hagri), 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor bearer of Joab (son of Zeruiah), 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad (son of Ahlai), 42 Adina (son of Shiza, a Reubenite chief) and 30 with him, 43 Hanan (son of Maacah), Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel (sons of Hotham the Aroerite), 45 Jediael and Joha (sons of Shimri the Tizite), 46 Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah (sons of Elnaam), Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.