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After the Exile
9 All Israel was registered in the genealogies that are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled(A) to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. 2 The first(B) to live in their towns on their own property again were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.(C)
3 These people from the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh settled in Jerusalem:
4 Uthai son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, a descendant[a] of Perez son of Judah;
5 from the Shilonites:
Asaiah the firstborn and his sons;
6 and from the descendants of Zerah:
Jeuel and their relatives—690 in all.
7 The Benjaminites: 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 their relatives according to their family records—956(D) in all. All these men were heads of their ancestral families.[b]
10 The priests:(E) Jedaiah; Jehoiarib; Jachin;
11 Azariah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief official(F) of God’s 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 relatives, the heads of their ancestral families—1,760 in all. They were capable men employed in the ministry of God’s temple.
14 The Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah of the Merarites;
15 Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and 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 who lived in the settlements of the Netophathites.
17 The gatekeepers:(G) Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives.
Shallum was their chief; 18 he was previously stationed at the King’s Gate on the east side.(H) These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites.
19 Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah and his relatives from his ancestral family, the Korahites, were assigned to guard the thresholds of the tent.[c] Their ancestors had been assigned to the Lord’s camp as guardians of the entrance.(I) 20 In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been their leader, and the Lord was with him.(J) 21 Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(K)
22 The total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements. David and the seer Samuel had appointed them(L) to their trusted positions. 23 So they and their sons were assigned as guards to the gates of the Lord’s temple, which had been the tent-temple. 24 The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north, and south. 25 Their relatives came from their settlements(M) at fixed times to be with them seven days,(N) 26 but the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of God’s temple.(O) 27 They spent the night in the vicinity of God’s temple, because they had guard duty and were in charge of opening it every morning.(P)
28 Some of them were in charge of the utensils used in worship. They would count them when they brought them in and when they took them out. 29 Others were put in charge of the furnishings and all the utensils of the sanctuary,(Q) as well as the fine flour,(R) wine, oil, incense, and spices. 30 Some of the priests’ sons mixed the spices.(S) 31 A Levite called Mattithiah, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with baking the bread.[d] 32 Some of the Kohathites’ relatives were responsible for preparing the rows of the Bread of the Presence(T) every Sabbath.
33 The singers,(U) the heads of the Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other tasks because they were on duty day and night.(V) 34 These(W) were the heads of the Levite families, chiefs according to their family records; they lived in Jerusalem.
Saul’s Family
35 Jeiel fathered Gibeon and lived in Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah. 36 Abdon was his firstborn son, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. 38 Mikloth fathered Shimeam. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem with their other relatives.
39 Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.
40 Jonathan’s son was Merib-baal, and Merib-baal fathered Micah.
41 Micah’s sons: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz.[e]
42 Ahaz fathered Jarah;
Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri;
Zimri fathered Moza.
43 Moza fathered Binea.
His son was Rephaiah, his son Elasah, and his son Azel.
44 Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were Azel’s sons.
The Death of Saul and His Sons
10 The Philistines(X) fought against Israel, and Israel’s men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines pursued Saul and his sons and killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers spotted him and severely wounded him. 4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me.” But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons died—his whole house died together.
7 When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them.
8 The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. 9 They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news to their idols and the people. 10 Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his skull in the temple of Dagon.(Y)
11 When all Jabesh-gilead heard of everything the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their brave men set out and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak[f] in Jabesh(Z) and fasted seven days.
13 Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the Lord because he did not keep the Lord’s word.(AA) He even consulted a medium for guidance,(AB) 14 but he did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.(AC)
21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me(A) 24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.(B) 26 But we have to run aground on some island.”(C)
27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet[a] deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet[b] deep. 29 Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.
33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.”(D) 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat.(E) 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship.(F) 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.
Shipwreck
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could.(G) 40 After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.(H)
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Human Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!(B)
You have covered the heavens with your majesty.[a](C)
2 From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,(D)
you have established a stronghold[b]
on account of your adversaries
in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you set in place,(E)
4 what is a human being that you remember him,
a son of man[c] that you look after him?(F)
5 You made him little less than God[d][e]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:(G)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(H)
9 Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.