Ishbosheth Is Murdered

¹When Saul's son Ishbosheth heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron, he was afraid, and all the people of Israel were alarmed.

²Ishbosheth had two officers who were leaders of raiding parties, Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon, from Beeroth in the tribe of Benjamin. (Beeroth is counted as part of Benjamin.

³Its original inhabitants had fled to Gittaim, where they have lived ever since.)

⁴Another descendant of Saul was Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed. When the news about their death came from the city of Jezreel, his nurse picked him up and fled; but she was in such a hurry that she dropped him, and he became crippled.

⁵Rechab and Baanah set out for Ishbosheth's house and arrived there about noon, while he was taking his midday rest.

⁶The woman at the door had become drowsy while she was sifting wheat and had fallen asleep, so Rechab and Baanah slipped in.

⁷Once inside, they went to Ishbosheth's bedroom, where he was sound asleep, and killed him. Then they cut off his head, took it with them, and walked all night through the Jordan Valley.

⁸They presented the head to King David at Hebron and said to him, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul, who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has allowed Your Majesty to take revenge on Saul and his descendants.”

⁹David answered them, “I take a vow by the living Lord, who has saved me from all dangers!

¹⁰The messenger who came to me at Ziklag and told me of Saul's death thought he was bringing good news. I seized him and had him put to death. That was the reward I gave him for his good news!

¹¹How much worse it will be for evil men who murder an innocent man asleep in his own house! I will now take revenge on you for murdering him and will wipe you off the face of the earth!”

¹²David gave the order, and his soldiers killed Rechab and Baanah and cut off their hands and feet, which they hung up near the pool in Hebron. They took Ishbosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb there at Hebron.

The Descendants of Reuben

¹These are the descendants of Reuben, the oldest of Jacob's sons. (Because he had sex with one of his father's concubines, he lost the rights belonging to the first-born son, and those rights were given to Joseph.

²It was the tribe of Judah, however, that became the strongest and provided a ruler for all the tribes.)

³Reuben, the oldest of Jacob's sons, had four sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

^4-6These are the descendants of Joel from generation to generation: Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei, Micah, Reaiah, Baal, and Beerah. The Assyrian emperor, Tiglath Pileser, captured Beerah, a leader of the tribe, and deported him.

⁷The family records list the following clan leaders in the tribe of Reuben: Jeiel, Zechariah,

⁸and Bela, the son of Azaz and grandson of Shema, of the clan of Joel. This clan lived in Aroer and in the territory from there north to Nebo and Baal Meon.

⁹They had large herds in the land of Gilead, and so they occupied the land as far east as the desert that stretches all the way to the Euphrates River.

¹⁰In the time of King Saul the tribe of Reuben attacked the Hagrites, killed them in battle, and occupied their land in the eastern part of Gilead.

The Descendants of Gad

¹¹The tribe of Gad lived to the north of Reuben in the land of Bashan as far east as Salecah.

¹²Joel was the founder of the leading clan, and Shapham of the second most important clan. Janai and Shaphat were founders of other clans in Bashan.

¹³The other members of the tribe belonged to the following seven clans: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber.

¹⁴They were descendants of Abihail son of Huri, whose ancestors were traced back as follows: Abihail, Huri, Jaroah, Gilead, Michael, Jeshishai, Jahdo, Buz.

¹⁵Ahi, the son of Abdiel and grandson of Guni, was head of these clans.

¹⁶They lived in the territory of Bashan and Gilead, in the towns there and all over the pasture lands of Sharon.

¹⁷(These records were compiled in the days of King Jotham of Judah and King Jeroboam II of Israel.)

The Armies of the Eastern Tribes

¹⁸In the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh there were 44,760 soldiers, well-trained in the use of shields, swords, and bows.

¹⁹They went to war against the Hagrite tribes of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

²⁰They put their trust in God and prayed to him for help, and God answered their prayers and made them victorious over the Hagrites and their allies.

²¹They captured from the enemy 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys, and took 100,000 prisoners of war.

²²They killed many of the enemy, because the war was God's will. And they went on living in that territory until the exile.

The People of East Manasseh

²³The people of East Manasseh settled in the territory of Bashan as far north as Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon, and their population increased greatly.

²⁴The following were the heads of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were all outstanding soldiers, well-known leaders of their clans.

The Eastern Tribes Are Deported

²⁵But the people were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and deserted him to worship the gods of the nations whom God had driven out of the land.

²⁶So God caused Emperor Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath Pileser) to invade their country. He deported the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh and settled them permanently in Halah, Habor, and Hara, and by the Gozan River.

The Family Line of the High Priests

¹Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses, and one daughter, Miriam. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴The descendants of Eleazar from generation to generation are as follows: Phinehas, Abishua,

⁵Bukki, Uzzi,

⁶Zerahiah, Meraioth,

⁷Amariah, Ahitub,

⁸Zadok, Ahimaaz,

⁹Azariah, Johanan,

¹⁰Azariah (the one who served in the Temple which King Solomon built in Jerusalem),

¹¹Amariah, Ahitub,

¹²Zadok, Shallum,

¹³Hilkiah, Azariah,

¹⁴Seraiah, Jehozadak.

¹⁵King Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehozadak along with the other people of Judah and Jerusalem whom the Lord sent into exile.

Other Descendants of Levi

¹⁶Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷Each of them also had sons. Gershon was the father of Libni and Shimei;

¹⁸Kohath was the father of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel;

¹⁹and Merari was the father of Mahli and Mushi.

²⁰These are the descendants of Gershon from generation to generation: Libni, Jahath, Zimmah,

²¹Joah, Iddo, Zerah, Jeatherai.

²²These are the descendants of Kohath from generation to generation: Amminadab, Korah, Assir,

²³Elkanah, Ebiasaph, Assir,

²⁴Tahath, Uriel, Uzziah, Shaul.

²⁵Elkanah had two sons, Amasai and Ahimoth.

²⁶These are Ahimoth's descendants from generation to generation: Elkanah, Zophai, Nahath,

²⁷Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah.

²⁸Samuel had two sons: Joel, the older, and Abijah, the younger.

²⁹These are the descendants of Merari from generation to generation: Mahli, Libni, Shimei, Uzzah,

³⁰Shimea, Haggiah, Asaiah.

The Temple Musicians

³¹These are the men whom King David put in charge of the music at the place of worship in Jerusalem after the Covenant Box was moved there.

³²They took regular turns of duty at the Tent of the Lord's presence during the time before King Solomon built the Temple.

³³The family lines of those who held this office are as follows: The clan of Kohath: Heman, the leader of the first choir, was the son of Joel. His family line went back to Jacob as follows: Heman, Joel, Samuel,

³⁴Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah,

³⁵Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai,

³⁶Elkanah, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah,

³⁷Tahath, Assir, Ebiasaph, Korah,

³⁸Izhar, Kohath, Levi, Jacob.

³⁹Asaph was leader of the second choir. His family line went back to Levi as follows: Asaph, Berechiah, Shimea,

⁴⁰Michael, Baaseiah, Malchijah,

⁴¹Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah,

⁴²Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei,

⁴³Jahath, Gershon, Levi.

⁴⁴Ethan of the clan of Merari was the leader of the third choir. His family line went back to Levi as follows: Ethan, Kishi, Abdi, Malluch,

⁴⁵Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah,

⁴⁶Amzi, Bani, Shemer,

⁴⁷Mahli, Mushi, Merari, Levi.

⁴⁸The other Levites were assigned all the other duties at the place of worship.

The Descendants of Aaron

⁴⁹Aaron and his descendants presented the offerings of incense and offered the sacrifices that were burnt on the altar. They were responsible for all the worship in the Most Holy Place and for the sacrifices by which God forgives Israel's sins. They did all this in accordance with the instructions given by Moses, God's servant.

⁵⁰This is the line of Aaron's descendants: Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua,

⁵¹Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah,

⁵²Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub,

⁵³Zadok, Ahimaaz.

Where the Levites Lived

⁵⁴This is the territory assigned to the descendants of Aaron of the clan of Kohath. They received the first share of the land assigned to the Levites.

⁵⁵This included Hebron in the territory of Judah and the pasture lands around it.

⁵⁶The fields and villages, however, that belonged to the city were assigned to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

^57-59The following towns were assigned to Aaron's descendants: Hebron, a city of refuge, Jattir, and the towns of Libnah, Eshtemoa, Hilen, Debir, Ashan, and Beth Shemesh, with their pasture lands.

⁶⁰In the territory of Benjamin they were assigned the following towns with their pasture lands: Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth. This made a total of thirteen towns for all their families to live in.

⁶¹Ten towns in the territory of West Manasseh were assigned by lot to the rest of the clan of Kohath, family by family.

⁶²To the clan of Gershon, family by family, were assigned thirteen towns in the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and East Manasseh in Bashan.

⁶³In the same way, twelve towns in the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun were assigned to the clan of Merari, family by family.

⁶⁴In this way the people of Israel assigned towns for the Levites to live in, together with the pasture lands around the towns.

⁶⁵(The towns in the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, mentioned above, were also assigned by drawing lots.)

⁶⁶Some of the families of the clan of Kohath were assigned towns and pasture lands in the territory of Ephraim:

⁶⁷Shechem, the city of refuge in the hills of Ephraim, Gezer,

⁶⁸Jokmeam, Beth Horon,

⁶⁹Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon.

⁷⁰In the territory of West Manasseh they were assigned the towns of Aner and Bileam with the surrounding pasture lands.

⁷¹The families of the clan of Gershon were assigned the following towns, with the surrounding pasture lands: In the territory of East Manasseh: Golan in Bashan, and Ashtaroth.

⁷²In the territory of Issachar: Kedesh, Daberath,

⁷³Ramoth, and Anem.

⁷⁴In the territory of Asher: Mashal, Abdon,

⁷⁵Hukok, and Rehob.

⁷⁶In the territory of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim.

⁷⁷The remaining families of the clan of Merari were assigned the following towns with the surrounding pasture lands: In the territory of Zebulun: Rimmono and Tabor.

⁷⁸In the territory of Reuben, east of the Jordan River beyond Jericho: Bezer on the plateau, Jahzah,

⁷⁹Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

⁸⁰In the territory of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim,

⁸¹Heshbon, and Jazer.

The Prayer of a Good Person

¹Declare me innocent, O Lord, because I do what is right and trust you completely.

²Examine me and test me, Lord; judge my desires and thoughts.

³Your constant love is my guide; your faithfulness always leads me.

⁴I do not keep company with worthless people; I have nothing to do with hypocrites.

⁵I hate the company of the evil and avoid the wicked.

⁶Lord, I wash my hands to show that I am innocent and march in worship around your altar.

⁷I sing a hymn of thanksgiving and tell of all your wonderful deeds.

⁸I love the house where you live, O Lord, the place where your glory dwells.

⁹Do not destroy me with the sinners; spare me from the fate of murderers—

¹⁰those who do evil all the time and are always ready to take bribes.

¹¹As for me, I do what is right; be merciful to me and save me!

¹²I am safe from all dangers; in the assembly of his people I praise the Lord.