Old/New Testament

Other Family Groups of Judah

4 Judah’s descendants were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur and Shobal.

² Reaiah was Shobal’s son. Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. They were the family groups of the Zorathite people.

^3-4 Hur was the oldest son of Caleb and his wife Ephrath. Hur was the leader of Bethlehem. Hur’s three sons were Etam, Penuel and Ezer. Etam’s sons were Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash. They had a sister named Hazzelelponi. Penuel was the father of Gedor. Ezer was the father of Hushah.

⁵ Tekoa’s father was Ashhur. Ashhur had two wives named Helah and Naarah.

⁶ The sons of Ashhur and Naarah were Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

⁷ Helah’s sons were Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan ⁸ and Koz. Koz was the father of Anub and Hazzobebah. He was also the father of the Aharhel family group. Aharhel was the son of Harum.

⁹ There was a man named Jabez. He was respected more than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez^[a] because she said, “I was in much pain when I gave birth to him.” ¹⁰ Jabez prayed to the God of Israel. Jabez said, “Please do good things for me. Please give me more land. Stay with me, and don’t let anyone hurt me. Then I won’t have any pain.” And God did what Jabez had asked.

¹¹ Kelub was Shuhah’s brother. Kelub 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 the people from the town of Nahash. These people were from Recah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah.

Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai. ¹⁴ Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.

Seraiah was the father of Joab. Joab was the ancestor of the people from Craftsmen’s Valley. It is called Craftsmen’s Valley because the people living there were craftsmen.

¹⁵ Caleb was Jephunneh’s son. Caleb’s sons were Iru, Elah and Naam. Elah’s son was Kenaz.

¹⁶ Jehallelel’s sons were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.

^17-18 Ezrah’s sons were Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. Mered married Bithiah, the daughter of the king of Egypt. The children of Mered and Bithiah were Miriam, Shammai and Ishbah. Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa. Mered also had a wife from Judah. She gave birth to Jered, Heber and Jekuthiel. Jered became the father of Gedor. Heber became the father of Soco. And Jekuthiel became the father of Zanoah.

¹⁹ Hodiah’s wife was Naham’s sister. The sons of Hodiah’s wife were Eshtemoa and the father of Keilah. Keilah was from the Garmite people. And Eshtemoa was from the Maacathite people.

²⁰ Shimon’s sons were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon.

Ishi’s sons were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

^21-22 Shelah was Judah’s son. Shelah’s sons were Er, Laadah, Jokim, the men from Cozeba, Joash and Saraph. Er was the father of Lecah. Laadah was the father of Mareshah and the family groups of linen workers at Beth Ashbea. Joash and Saraph ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. The writings about this family are very old. ²³ These sons of Shelah made things from clay. They lived in Netaim and Gederah. They stayed there and worked for the king.

Simeon’s Children

²⁴ Simeon’s sons were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah and Shaul. ²⁵ Shaul’s son was Shallum. Shallum’s son was Mibsam. Mibsam’s son was Mishma.

²⁶ Mishma’s son was Hammuel. Hammuel’s son was Zaccur. Zaccur’s son was Shimei. ²⁷ Shimei had 16 sons and 6 daughters. But his brothers did not have many children. So there were not as many people in their family group as there were in Judah.

²⁸ Shimei’s children lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, ²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem and Tolad. ³⁰ They also lived in Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri and Shaaraim. They lived in these cities until David became king. ³² The five villages near these cities were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token and Ashan. ³³ There were also other villages as far away as Baalath. This is where they lived. And they wrote the history of their family.

^34-38 This is the list of men who were leaders of their family groups. There were Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, Joel and Jehu son of Joshibiah. (Joshibiah was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Asiel.) There were also Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah and Ziza. (Ziza was the son of Shiphi, who was the son of Allon. Allon was the son of Jedaiah, who was the son of Shimri. And Shimri was the son of Shemaiah.)

These men’s families grew to be very large. ³⁹ They went to the area outside the city of Gedor to the east side of the valley. They went there to look for pasture for their sheep. ⁴⁰ They found good pastures with plenty of grass. The land was open country and peaceful and quiet. Ham’s descendants had lived there in the past.

⁴¹ These men listed above came to Gedor while Hezekiah was king of Judah. They fought against the Hamite people and destroyed their tents. They also fought against the Meunite people who lived there and completely destroyed them. So there are no Meunites there even today. Then these men began to live there, because there was pasture for their sheep. ⁴² Ishi’s sons, Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, led 500 of the Simeonite people. They attacked the people living in the mountains of Edom. ⁴³ They killed the few Amalekite people who were still alive. From that time until now these Simeonites have lived in Edom.

Reuben’s Children

5 Reuben was Israel’s first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son. But he had physical relations with his father’s slave woman. So those special privileges were given to Joseph’s sons. (Joseph was a son of Israel.) In the family history Reuben’s name is not listed as the first son. ² Judah became stronger than his brothers. And a leader came from his family. But Joseph’s family received the privileges that belonged to the oldest son. ³ Reuben was the first son born to Israel. Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

⁴ These were the children of Joel: Shemaiah was Joel’s son. Gog was Shemaiah’s son. Shimei was Gog’s son. ⁵ Micah was Shimei’s son. Reaiah was Micah’s son. Baal was Reaiah’s son. ⁶ Beerah was Baal’s son. Beerah was a leader of the tribe of Reuben. Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria captured Beerah and took him away.

⁷ Joel’s brothers and all his family groups are listed just as they are written in their family histories: Jeiel was the first, then Zechariah ⁸ and Bela. (Bela was the son of Azaz. Azaz was Shema’s son. Shema was Joel’s son.) They lived in the area of Aroer all the way to Nebo and Baal Meon. ⁹ Bela’s people lived to the east. Their land went as far as the edge of the desert, which is beside the Euphrates River. They lived there because they had too many cattle for the land of Gilead.

¹⁰ When Saul was king, Bela’s people fought a war against the Hagrite people. And they defeated the Hagrites. Then Bela’s people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites. They lived in all the area east of Gilead.

Gad’s Children

¹¹ The people from the tribe of Gad lived near the Reubenite people. The Gadites lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Salecah. ¹² Joel was the main leader in Bashan. Shapham was the second leader. Then Janai and Shaphat were leaders.

¹³ The seven relatives in their families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber. ¹⁴ They were the descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri’s son. Huri was Jaroah’s son. Jaroah was Gilead’s son. Gilead was Michael’s son. Michael was Jeshishai’s son. Jeshishai was Jahdo’s son. Jahdo was the son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi was Abdiel’s son. Abdiel was Guni’s son. Ahi was the leader of their family.

¹⁶ The Gadite people lived in Gilead, Bashan and in the small towns around Bashan. They also lived on all the pasturelands in the Plain of Sharon all the way to the borders.

¹⁷ All these people’s names were written in the family history of Gad. This was done during the time Jotham was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel.

Soldiers Skilled in War

¹⁸ There were 44,760 fighters from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. They were brave men who could use shields and swords. They could use their bows well. They were skilled in war. ¹⁹ They started a war against the Hagrites and the people of Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. ²⁰ The men from the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad prayed to God in the war. They asked God to help them. So he helped them because they trusted him. He allowed them to defeat the Hagrites. And they also defeated all those who were with the Hagrites. ²¹ They took the animals that belonged to the Hagrites. They took 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and 2,000 donkeys. They also captured 100,000 people. ²² Many Hagrites were killed. This is because God helped the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. Then they lived there until Babylon captured them and took them away.

The Eastern Half-Tribe of Manasseh

²³ There were many people in the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. They lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Baal Hermon, Senir and Mount Hermon.

²⁴ These were the family leaders: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were all strong, brave and famous men. And they were leaders in their families. ²⁵ But they sinned against the God that their ancestors had worshiped. They began worshiping the gods of the people in that land. And those were the people God was destroying. ²⁶ So the God of Israel made Pul king of Assyria want to go to war. Pul was also called Tiglath-Pileser. He captured the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. And he took them away to Halah, Habor, Hara and near the Gozan River. And they have lived there from that time until this day.

Levi’s Children

6 Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

² Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

³ Amram’s children were Aaron, Moses and Miriam.

Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁴ Eleazar was the father of Phinehas. Phinehas was the father of Abishua. ⁵ Abishua was the father of Bukki. Bukki was the father of Uzzi. ⁶ Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth. ⁷ Meraioth was the father of Amariah. Amariah was the father of Ahitub. ⁸ Ahitub was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz. ⁹ Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah. Azariah was the father of Johanan. ¹⁰ Johanan was the father of Azariah. (Azariah was a priest in the Temple Solomon built in Jerusalem.) ¹¹ Azariah was the father of Amariah. Amariah was the father of Ahitub. ¹² Ahitub was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Shallum. ¹³ Shallum was the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah was the father of Azariah. ¹⁴ Azariah was the father of Seraiah. Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak.

¹⁵ Jehozadak was forced to leave his home when the Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into captivity. That was when Nebuchadnezzar captured them and took them away.

¹⁶ Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

¹⁷ The names of Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸ Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

¹⁹ Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.

This is a list of the family groups of Levi. They are listed by the name of the father of each group.

²⁰ Gershon’s son was Libni. Libni’s son was Jehath. Jehath’s son was Zimmah. ²¹ Zimmah’s son was Joah. Joah’s son was Iddo. Iddo’s son was Zerah. And Zerah’s son was Jeatherai.

²² Kohath’s son was Amminadab. Amminadab’s son was Korah. Korah’s son was Assir. ²³ Assir’s son was Elkanah. Elkanah’s son was Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph’s son was Assir. ²⁴ Assir’s son was Tahath. Tahath’s son was Uriel. Uriel’s son was Uzziah, and Uzziah’s son was Shaul.

²⁵ Elkanah’s sons were Amasai and Ahimoth. ²⁶ Ahimoth’s son was Elkanah. Elkanah’s son was Zophai. Zophai’s son was Nahath. ²⁷ Nahath’s son was Eliab. Eliab’s son was Jeroham. Jeroham’s son was Elkanah, and Elkanah’s son was Samuel.

²⁸ Samuel’s sons were Joel, the first son, and Abijah, the second son.

²⁹ Merari’s son was Mahli. Mahli’s son was Libni. Libni’s son was Shimei. Shimei’s son was Uzzah. ³⁰ Uzzah’s son was Shimea. Shimea’s son was Haggiah, and Haggiah’s son was Asaiah.

The Temple Musicians

³¹ David chose some men to be in charge of the music in the house of the Lord. They began their work after the Ark of the Covenant was put there. ³² They served by making music at the Holy Tent. (It is also called the Meeting Tent.) And they served until Solomon built the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They followed the rules for their work.

³³ These are the musicians and their sons:

From Kohath’s family there was Heman the singer. Heman was Joel’s son. Joel was Samuel’s son. ³⁴ Samuel was Elkanah’s son. Elkanah was Jeroham’s son. Jeroham was Eliel’s son. Eliel was Toah’s son. ³⁵ Toah was Zuph’s son. Zuph was Elkanah’s son. Elkanah was Mahath’s son. Mahath was Amasai’s son. ³⁶ Amasai was Elkanah’s son. Elkanah was Joel’s son. Joel was Azariah’s son. Azariah was Zephaniah’s son. ³⁷ Zephaniah was Tahath’s son. Tahath was Assir’s son. Assir was Ebiasaph’s son. Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. ³⁸ Korah was Izhar’s son. Izhar was Kohath’s son. Kohath was Levi’s son. Levi was Israel’s son.

³⁹ There was Heman’s helper Asaph. Asaph’s group stood by Heman’s right side. Asaph was Berekiah’s son. Berekiah was Shimea’s son. ⁴⁰ Shimea was Michael’s son. Michael was Baaseiah’s son. Baaseiah was Malkijah’s son. ⁴¹ Malkijah was Ethni’s son. Ethni was Zerah’s son. Zerah was Adaiah’s son. ⁴² Adaiah was Ethan’s son. Ethan was Zimmah’s son. Zimmah was Shimei’s son. ⁴³ Shimei was Jahath’s son. Jahath was Gershon’s son. Gershon was Levi’s son.

⁴⁴ Merari’s family were the helpers of Heman and Asaph. Merari’s family stood by Heman’s left side. In this group was Ethan son of Kishi. Kishi was Abdi’s son. Abdi was Malluch’s son. ⁴⁵ Malluch was Hashabiah’s son. Hashabiah was Amaziah’s son. Amaziah was Hilkiah’s son. ⁴⁶ Hilkiah was Amzi’s son. Amzi was Bani’s son. Bani was Shemer’s son. ⁴⁷ Shemer was Mahli’s son. Mahli was Mushi’s son. Mushi was Merari’s son. Merari was Levi’s son.

⁴⁸ The other Levites served by doing their own special work in the Holy Tent. It is the house of God. ⁴⁹ Aaron and his descendants offered the sacrifices on the altar of burnt offering. They also burned the incense on the altar of incense. They offered the sacrifices that removed the Israelites’ sins so they could belong to God. They did all the work in the Most Holy Place. They followed all the laws that Moses, God’s servant, had commanded.

⁵⁰ These were Aaron’s sons: Eleazar was Aaron’s son. Phinehas was Eleazar’s son. Abishua was Phinehas’ son. ⁵¹ Bukki was Abishua’s son. Uzzi was Bukki’s son. Zerahiah was Uzzi’s son. ⁵² Meraioth was Zerahiah’s son. Amariah was Meraioth’s son. Ahitub was Amariah’s son. ⁵³ Zadok was Ahitub’s son. Ahimaaz was Zadok’s son.

Land for the Levites

⁵⁴ These are the places where Aaron’s descendants lived. Aaron’s descendants from the Kohath family group were given this land to live in. They received the first share of the land that was given to the Levites.

⁵⁵ They were given the city of Hebron in Judah and the pastures around it. ⁵⁶ But the fields farther from the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. And the villages near Hebron were given to Caleb. ⁵⁷ So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron. It was one of the cities of safety.^[b] They also received the cities of Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, ⁵⁸ Hilen, Debir, ⁵⁹ Ashan, Juttah and Beth Shemesh. They received all these cities and the pastures around them. ⁶⁰ They also received cities from the tribe of Benjamin. They received Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, Anathoth and their pastures.

The Kohath family groups received a total of 13 cities.

⁶¹ The rest of the Kohath family group was given 10 cities. These cities were from the family groups of the western half-tribe of Manasseh. The cities were chosen by throwing lots.

⁶² The Gershon family group received 13 cities. They were from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the part of Manasseh living in Bashan.

⁶³ The Merari family group received 12 cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. Those cities were chosen by throwing lots.

⁶⁴ So the Israelites gave these cities and their pastures to the Levites. ⁶⁵ The cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin were chosen by throwing lots. They are the cities named above.

⁶⁶ Some of the Kohath family groups received cities and pastures from the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷ They received Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim. It was one of the cities of safety. They also received the cities of Gezer, ⁶⁸ Jokmeam, Beth Horon, ⁶⁹ Aijalon and Gath Rimmon. They received the cities and the pastures around them.

⁷⁰ The rest of the people in the Kohath family group received cities from the western half-tribe of Manasseh. They received the cities of Aner and Bileam and their pastures.

⁷¹ From the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh, the Gershon family received towns and pastures. They received Golan in Bashan, Ashtaroth and the pastures around them.

^72-73 From the tribe of Issachar, the Gershon family received towns and pastures. They received Kedesh, Daberath, Ramoth, Anem and their pastures.

^74-75 From the tribe of Asher, the Gershon family received towns and pastures. They received Mashal, Abdon, Hukok, Rehob and their pastures.

⁷⁶ From the tribe of Naphtali, the Gershon family received towns and pastures. They received Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, Kiriathaim and their pastures.

⁷⁷ The rest of the Levites, the people from the Merari family, also received towns and pastures. They received Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmono and Tabor from the tribe of Zebulun. They also received the pastures around those cities.

^78-79 From the tribe of Reuben, the Merari family received towns and pastures. They received Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, Kedemoth, Mephaath and their pastures. (The tribe of Reuben lived east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.)

^80-81 From the tribe of Gad, the Merari family received towns and pastures. They received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, Jazer and their pastures.

More Than 5,000 People Fed

6 After this, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (or, Lake Tiberias). ² Many people followed him because they saw the miracles he did to heal the sick. ³ Jesus went up on a hill and there sat down with his followers. ⁴ It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover Feast.

⁵ Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for all these people to eat?” ⁶ (Jesus asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.)

⁷ Philip answered, “Someone would have to work almost a year to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece.”

⁸ Another follower there was Andrew. He was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew said, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” This was a very grassy place. There were about 5,000 men who sat down there. ¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves of bread. He thanked God for the bread and gave it to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.

¹² They all had enough to eat. When they had finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.” ¹³ So they gathered up the pieces that were left. They filled 12 large baskets with the pieces that were left of the five barley loaves.

¹⁴ The people saw this miracle that Jesus did. They said, “He must truly be the Prophet^[a] who is coming into the world.”

¹⁵ Jesus knew that the people planned to come and take him by force and make him their king. So he left and went into the hills alone.

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶ That evening Jesus’ followers went down to Lake Galilee. ¹⁷ It was dark now and Jesus had not yet come to them. The followers got into a boat and started across the lake to Capernaum. ¹⁸ By now a strong wind was blowing, and the waves on the lake were getting bigger. ¹⁹ They rowed the boat about three or four miles. Then they saw Jesus walking on the water, coming toward the boat. The followers were afraid. ²⁰ But Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. It is I.” ²¹ Then they were glad to take him into the boat. At once the boat came to land at the place where they wanted to go.