Meonothai fathered Ophrah,
and Seraiah fathered Joab, the ancestor of those in the Valley of Craftsmen, for they were craftsmen.

They were the potters and residents of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the service of the king.

They lived in Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual,

and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record for themselves.

They went to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley to seek pasture for their flocks.

They found rich, good pasture, and the land was broad, peaceful, and quiet, for some Hamites had lived there previously.

These who were recorded by name came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, attacked the Hamites’ tents and the Meunites who were found there, and set them apart for destruction, as they are today. Then they settled in their place because there was pasture for their flocks.

They struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they still live there today.

His relatives by their families as they are recorded in their genealogy:

Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,

and Bela son of Azaz,
son of Shema, son of Joel.

They settled in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.

They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their herds had increased in the land of Gilead.

During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated by their power. And they lived in their tents throughout the region east of Gilead.

They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.

They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

They received help against these enemies because they cried out to God in battle, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them. He granted their request because they trusted in Him.

They captured the Hagrites’ livestock—50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys—as well as 100,000 people.

Many of the Hagrites were killed because it was God’s battle. And they lived there in the Hagrites’ place until the exile.

The sons of half the tribe of Manasseh settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir or Mount Hermon); they were numerous.

These were the heads of their ancestral houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their ancestral houses.

But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations God had destroyed before them.

So the God of Israel put it into the mind of Pul (that is, Tiglath-pileser) king of Assyria to take the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and Gozan’s river, where they are until today.

They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations given to them.

But Aaron and his sons did all the work of the most holy place. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offerings and on the altar of incense to make atonement for Israel according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

They were given Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands,

From the tribe of Benjamin they were given Geba and its pasturelands, Alemeth and its pasturelands, and Anathoth and its pasturelands. They had 13 towns in all among their families.

They assigned by lot the towns named above from the tribes of the Judahites, Simeonites, and Benjaminites.

From the tribe of Issachar they received Kedesh and its pasturelands, Daberath and its pasturelands,

From the tribe of Asher they received Mashal and its pasturelands, Abdon and its pasturelands,

From the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee and its pasturelands, Hammon and its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim and its pasturelands.

The rest of the Merarites received:

From the tribe of Zebulun they received Rimmono and its pasturelands and Tabor and its pasturelands.

From the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan at Jericho, to the east of the Jordan, they received Bezer in the desert and its pasturelands, Jahzah and its pasturelands,

From the tribe of Gad they received Ramoth in Gilead and its pasturelands, Mahanaim and its pasturelands,

Along with them, they had 36,000 troops for battle according to the genealogical records of their ancestral houses, for they had many wives and children.

Bela’s sons: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five. They were warriors and heads of their ancestral houses; 22,034 were listed in their genealogies.

his son Zabad,
his son Shuthelah, also Ezer, and Elead.

The men of Gath, born in the land, killed them because they went down to raid their cattle.

All these were Asher’s sons. They were the heads of their ancestral houses, chosen men, warriors, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men listed in their genealogies for military service was 26,000.

Ulam’s sons were warriors and archers. They had many sons and grandsons—150 of them.
All these were among Benjamin’s sons.

and 1,760 of their relatives, the heads of households. They were capable men employed in the ministry of God’s temple.

The total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted positions.

So they and their sons were assigned to the gates of the Lord’s temple, which had been the tent-temple.

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.

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.

The singers, 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.

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.

The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa.

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 their people.

Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his skull in the temple of Dagon.

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 in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the Lord’s word through Samuel.

But Eleazar and David took their stand in the middle of the field and defended it. They killed the Philistines, and the Lord gave them a great victory.

So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the Lord.

David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.

They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow. They were Saul’s relatives from Benjamin:

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were fighting men, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.

Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”

They helped David against the raiders, for they were all brave warriors and commanders in the army.

They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.

Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the Lord our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.

At Abinadab’s house they set the ark of God on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart.

When they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to hold the ark because the oxen had stumbled.

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they all went in search of David; when David heard of this, he went out to face them.

So the Israelites went up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.” Therefore, they named that place the Lord Bursts Out.

The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.

So David did exactly as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.

While the Levites were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with God’s help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence.

When they were few in number,
very few indeed, and temporary residents in Canaan

I will establish a place for My people Israel and plant them, so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they formerly have

He also defeated the Moabites, and they became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

When the Ammonites realized they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 38 tons of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.

They hired 32,000 chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped near Medeba. The Ammonites also came together from their cities for the battle.

He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai, and they lined up in battle formation to engage the Ammonites.

Joab and the people with him approached the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him.

When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Joab’s brother Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.

When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who were across the Euphrates. They were led by Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army.

When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up in battle formation against them. When David lined up to engage them in battle, they fought against him.

When Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.

Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply the number of His people a hundred times over! My lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? My Lord God, please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against Your people.”

Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became an ancestral house and received a single assignment.

They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening.

Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed festivals, they are to do so regularly in the Lord’s presence according to the number prescribed for them.

They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the sons of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.”

But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: 16 heads of ancestral houses were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral houses were from Ithamar’s.

They were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.

These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the sons of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family heads and their younger brothers alike.

They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the Lord.

They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.

Also, to his son Shemaiah were born sons who ruled over their ancestral houses because they were strong, capable men.

All of these were among the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and brothers; they were capable men with strength for the work—62 from Obed-edom.

They cast lots for each gate according to their ancestral houses, young and old alike.

The lot for the east gate fell to Shelemiah. They also cast lots for his son Zechariah, an insightful counselor, and his lot came out for the north gate.

They dedicated part of the plunder from their battles for the repair of the Lord’s temple.

For the service of God’s house they gave 185 tons of gold and 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 4,000 tons of iron.

Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders’ willingness to give, for they had given to the Lord with a whole heart. King David also rejoiced greatly.

Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So the whole assembly praised the Lord God of their ancestors. They bowed down and paid homage to the Lord and the king.

The following day they offered sacrifices to the Lord and burnt offerings to the Lord: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, along with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.