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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:
Sallu son of Meshullam, who was the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah
Ibneiah son of Jeroham
Elah, the son of Uzzi and grandson of Michri
Meshullam son of Shephatiah, who was the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah
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:
Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin
Azariah son of Hilkiah (the chief official in the Temple), whose ancestors included Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, and Ahitub
Adaiah son of Jeroham, whose ancestors included Pashhur and Malchijah
Maasai son of Adiel, whose ancestors included Jahzerah, Meshullam, Meshillemith, and Immer
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:
Shemaiah son of Hasshub, whose ancestors included Azrikam and Hashabiah, of the clan of Merari
Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal
Mattaniah son of Mica, whose ancestors included Zichri and Asaph
Obadiah son of Shemaiah, whose ancestors included Galal and Jeduthun
Berechiah, the son of Asa and grandson of Elkanah, who lived in the territory that belonged to the town of Netophah
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.
21 After everyone had gone a long time without food, Paul stood before them and said, “You should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete; then we would have avoided all this damage and loss. 22 But now I beg you, take courage! Not one of you will lose your life; only the ship will be lost. 23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship came to me 24 and said, ‘Don't be afraid, Paul! You must stand before the Emperor. And God in his goodness to you has spared the lives of all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men! For I trust in God that it will be just as I was told. 26 But we will be driven ashore on some island.”
27 It was the fourteenth night, and we were being driven in the Mediterranean by the storm. About midnight the sailors suspected that we were getting close to land. 28 So they dropped a line with a weight tied to it and found that the water was one hundred and twenty feet deep; a little later they did the same and found that it was ninety feet deep. 29 They were afraid that the ship would go on the rocks, so they lowered four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight. 30 Then the sailors tried to escape from the ship; they lowered the boat into the water and pretended that they were going to put out some anchors from the front of the ship. 31 But Paul said to the army officer and soldiers, “If the sailors don't stay on board, you have no hope of being saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the boat and let it go.
33 Just before dawn, Paul begged them all to eat some food: “You have been waiting for fourteen days now, and all this time you have not eaten a thing. 34 I beg you, then, eat some food; you need it in order to survive. Not even a hair of your heads will be lost.” 35 After saying this, Paul took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat. 36 They took courage, and every one of them also ate some food. 37 There was a total of 276[a] of us on board. 38 After everyone had eaten enough, they lightened the ship by throwing all the wheat into the sea.
The Shipwreck
39 When day came, the sailors did not recognize the coast, but they noticed a bay with a beach and decided that, if possible, they would run the ship aground there. 40 So they cut off the anchors and let them sink in the sea, and at the same time they untied the ropes that held the steering oars. Then they raised the sail at the front of the ship so that the wind would blow the ship forward, and we headed for shore. 41 But the ship hit a sandbank and went aground; the front part of the ship got stuck and could not move, while the back part was being broken to pieces by the violence of the waves.
42 The soldiers made a plan to kill all the prisoners, in order to keep them from swimming ashore and escaping. 43 But the army officer wanted to save Paul, so he stopped them from doing this. Instead, he ordered everyone who could swim to jump overboard first and swim ashore; 44 the rest were to follow, holding on to the planks or to some broken pieces of the ship. And this was how we all got safely ashore.
God's Glory and Human Dignity[a]
8 O Lord, our Lord,
your greatness is seen in all the world!
Your praise reaches up to the heavens;
2 (A)it is sung by children and babies.
You are safe and secure from all your enemies;
you stop anyone who opposes you.
3 When I look at the sky, which you have made,
at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places—
4 (B)what are human beings, that you think of them;
mere mortals, that you care for them?
5 (C)Yet you made them inferior only to yourself;[b]
you crowned them with glory and honor.
6 (D)You appointed them rulers over everything you made;
you placed them over all creation:
7 sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too;
8 the birds and the fish
and the creatures in the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
your greatness is seen in all the world!
23 When the poor speak, they have to be polite, but when the rich answer, they are rude.
24 Some friendships do[a] not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.