Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would indeed bless me and enlarge my border [property], and that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil so that it does not hurt me!” And God granted his request.

They found rich, good pasture, and the [cleared] land was wide, quiet, and peaceful; for those who had lived there previously came from Ham [and had left it a better place for those who came after them].

The sons of Gad lived opposite them in the land of Bashan, as far as Salecah:

They were given help against them, and the Hagrites were handed over to them, and all who were allied with them; for they cried out to God [for help] in the battle; and He granted their entreaty because they relied on and trusted in Him.

For a great number fell mortally wounded, because the battle was of God. And these Israelites settled in their territory until the exile [by Assyria more than five centuries later].

But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the prostitute with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, [that is,] the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile—the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, [where they remain] to this day.

Their relatives the Levites [who were not descended from Aaron] were appointed for all the other kinds of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

But [the line of] Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, ministering for all the work of the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place), and [they did so] to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses, God’s servant, had commanded.

To the sons of Merari were given twelve cities by lot, according to their families, from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead and Mahanaim with their pasture lands,

So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies; and they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away into exile to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness [to God].

Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief officer of the house of God;

and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760—very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.

who until now was assigned to the king’s gate on the east side) they were the gatekeepers for the camp of the Levites.

for these Levites, the four chief gatekeepers, had an official duty, and were in charge of the chambers and treasuries of the house of God.

They spent the night around the house of God, for the [night] watch was theirs, and they were in charge of opening the house morning after morning.

So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, for his failure to keep the word of the Lord; and also because he consulted a medium [regarding a spirit of the dead], to inquire of her,

In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over My people Israel.’”

David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is next to the gate!”

Then the three [mighty men] broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was next to the gate, and brought it to David. But David would not drink it; he poured it out to the Lord [as an offering];

and he said, “Far be it from me before my God that I would do this thing! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy? For they brought it at the risk of their lives.” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no violence or wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on [what you are doing] and punish [you].”

Then the [Holy] Spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the thirty, and he said,“We are yours, O David,
And with you, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace be to you,
And peace be to him who helps you;
For your God helps you.” Then David accepted and received them and made them officers of his troops.

For day by day men kept coming to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.

From the other side [east] of the Jordan River, of [the tribes of] Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 men, armed with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.

David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send word everywhere to our fellow countrymen who remain in all the land of Israel, and to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, so that they may meet with us;

and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it during the days of Saul.”

So David gathered all Israel together, from the Shihor [watercourse] of Egypt, to the entrance of Hamath [in the north], to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord who sits enthroned above the cherubim, the ark which is called by His name.

They carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio [his brother] drove the cart.

David and all Israel celebrated [joyfully] before God with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, and He struck him down because he touched the ark; and there he died before God.

David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home with me?”

So the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he had.

So David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You hand them over to me?” Then the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will hand them over to you.”

So Israel came up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore they named that place Baal-perazim.

So David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “Do not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees.

It shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the Philistine army.”

So David did just as God had commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.

Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.”

and he said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.

Because you did not [carry it as God directed] the first time, the Lord our God made an [angry] outburst against us, for we did not seek Him in accordance with the ordinance.”

So the priests and the Levites consecrated (dedicated) themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.

Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah (Jeiel) were also gatekeepers for the ark.

Because God was helping the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord [to do it carefully and safely], they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

So they brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord and to profess [God’s name] and to thank and praise the Lord, the God of Israel:

and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;
Gather us together and rescue us from the nations,
That we may give thanks to Your holy name,
And glory in Your praise.”

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
Forever and ever.And all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

With them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who were to sound aloud, and instruments for [accompanying] the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were to be at the gate.

Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

But it came about that same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make your name like the name of the great ones of the earth.

Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house and family that You have brought me this far?

This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard and estate of a man of high degree (prominence), O Lord God.

O Lord, there is no one like You, nor is there any God except You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make a name for Yourself by great and awesome and terrible things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt?

You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God.

Let Your name [and the character that it denotes] endure and be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, yes, a God to Israel; and the house of Your servant David is established before You.’

For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house (descendants); therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You.

And now, O Lord, You are God, and you have spoken and promised this good thing to Your servant.

Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them [cutting off half their beards], and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away [in humiliation].

Be strong and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

Now God was displeased with this act [of arrogance and pride], and He struck Israel.

Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. But now, I beseech You, take away the wickedness and guilt of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

And the Lord said to Gad, David’s seer,

So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself

David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying it, the Lord looked, and relented concerning the catastrophe and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now remove your hand [of judgment].” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded the people to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done evil; but as for these sheep [the people of Israel], what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

So David went up at Gad’s word, which he spoke in the name of the Lord.

Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. See, I will give you the oxen also for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges (heavy wooden platforms) for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”

But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he assigned stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God.

Then he called for Solomon his son and ordered him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house for the Name (Presence) of the Lord my God.

Behold, a son will be born to you, who will be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

Now, my son, may the Lord be with you so that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord your God, just as He has spoken concerning you.

Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe and fulfill the statutes and ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed.

“Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest and peace on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek (inquire of, require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles and utensils of God into the house built for the Name (Presence) of the Lord.”

But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were counted among the tribe of Levi.

For David said, “The Lord God of Israel, has given peace and rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.

For their duty is to assist [the priests] the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in [caring for] the courtyards, the chambers, the purifying of all holy things, and any work of the service of the house of God,

So they were divided by lot, one group with the other; for they were officers of the sanctuary and officers (high priests) of God, both from the descendants of Eleazar and from the descendants of Ithamar.

These were their offices and positions for their service in the house of the Lord according to the ordinance given to them by their father (ancestor) Aaron, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

All these [men] were the sons of Heman the king’s seer to exalt him in accordance with the words of God; for God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

All these were under the direction of their father to sing in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the order and direction of the king.

Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; for God had blessed him.

They cast lots, the small (younger) and great (older) alike, in accordance with their fathers’ households, for every gate.