And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth.

And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.

And when Baal-hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly.

And these recorded by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and destroyed their tents, and the Meunim that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their place: because there was pasture there for their flocks.

Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, since he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be recorded according to the birthright.

And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was recorded, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,

And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.

All these were recorded by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.

And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

And unto the sons of Kohath, who were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.

Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.

And on the other side of the Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, and Jahzah with its pasture lands,

Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.

And with them, by their generations, according to the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons.

And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, listed in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand.

And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor; and were listed by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four.

And the number of them, according to their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor, was twenty thousand and two hundred.

And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.

These were heads of the fathers' houses, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem.

So all Israel were recorded by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.

All these who were chosen to be gatekeepers in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were recorded by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their office of trust.

And certain of them had the charge of the serving vessels, that they should bring them in and out by count.

And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, you were he that led out and brought in Israel: and the LORD your God said unto you, You shall feed my people Israel, and you shall be ruler over my people Israel.

Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel.

And David said, Whosoever smites the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.

And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, a Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.

And they set themselves in the midst of that plot, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great deliverance.

And the three broke through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,

They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.

And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If you are come peaceably unto me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you: but if you are come to betray me to my enemies, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look on it, and rebuke it.

Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Yours we are, David, and on your side, you son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto you, and peace be to your helpers; for your God helps you. Then David received them, and made them captains of his troop.

For at that time day by day there came more to David to help him, until it was a great army, like the army of God.

And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were designated by name, to come and make David king.

So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David defeated them there. Then David said, God has broken in upon my enemies by my hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And it shall be, when you shall hear a sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, that then you shall go out to battle: for God has gone forth before you to smite the army of the Philistines.

And David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, lyres and harps and cymbals sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

Be you mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigns.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel forever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

And Obed-edom with his brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be gatekeepers:

And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endures forever;

Now therefore thus shall you say unto my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, even from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over my people Israel:

Also I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness oppress them any more, as at the beginning,

And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a house.

And it shall come to pass, when your days are ended that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before you:

But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established forevermore.

And what one nation in the earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make you a name of greatness and awesomeness, by driving out nations from before your people, whom you have redeemed out of Egypt?

Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have said.

Let it even be established, that your name may be magnified forever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David your servant be established before you.

Now therefore let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may be before you forever: for you bless, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.

And David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to establish his rule by the river Euphrates.

And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that had come were by themselves in the field.

Be of good courage, and let us fight valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight.

These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

And Joab answered, The LORD make his people a hundred times so many more as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then does my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?

Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before your foes, while that the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel. Now therefore decide what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, restrain now your hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let your hand, I pray you, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on your people, that they should be plagued.

Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar on it unto the LORD: you shall give it to me for the full price: that the plague may be averted from the people.

And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will indeed buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.

So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.

And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.

Now, my son, the LORD be with you; and prosper you, and build the house of the LORD your God, as he has said of you.

Then shall you prosper, if you take heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

Of the gold, the silver, and the bronze, and the iron, there is no limit. Arise therefore, and begin working, and the LORD be with you.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build you the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.

These were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses; even the heads of their fathers' houses, as they were counted individually by the number of their names, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.

For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:

And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to that required of them, continually before the LORD:

Thus were they divided by lot, one group as another; for the officials of the sanctuary, and officials of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.

The sons of Merari by Jaaziah; Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri.

To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the road that goes up, watch opposite watch.

Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and for the storehouse two by two.

And his brethren by Eliezer; Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son.

Now the children of Israel according to their number, the heads of the fathers' houses and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the divisions, who came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every division were twenty and four thousand.

And David assembled all the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by division, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possessions of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.

However the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever: for he has chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel:

And he said unto me, Solomon your son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Take heed now; for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.

And the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:

He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles of all manner of service; silver also for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles of every kind of service:

Even the weight for the lampstands of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every lampstand, and for the lamps thereof: and for the lampstands of silver by weight, both for the lampstand, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every lampstand.

And by weight he gave gold for the tables of showbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver:

Also pure gold for the forks, and the basins, and the cups: and for the golden bowls he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and likewise silver by weight for every bowl of silver:

And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the plan of the chariot of the cherubim, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this plan.

And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.