Two sons were born to Eber: the first was named Peleg, for during his lifetime the earth was divided; his brother's name was Joktan.

Ishmael's firstborn son was Nebaioth; the others were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

The sons to whom Keturah, Abraham's concubine, gave birth: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.

The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. (Timna was Lotan's sister.)

The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Er, Judah's firstborn, displeased the Lord, so the Lord killed him.

Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.

Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah's three sons were Abshai, Joab, and Asahel.

After Hezron's death, Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath, his father Hezron's widow, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.

The sons of Jerahmeel, Hezron's firstborn, were Ram, the firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah.

Jerahmeel had another wife named Atarah; she was Onam's mother.

The sons of Ram, Jerahmeel's firstborn, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

Abishur's wife was Abihail, who bore him Ahban and Molid.

The sons of Jada, Shammai's brother: Jether and Jonathan. (Jether died without having sons.)

The sons of Caleb, Jerahmeel's brother: His firstborn Mesha, the father of Ziph, and his second son Mareshah, the father of Hebron.

Shammai's son was Maon, who was the father of Beth-Zur.

Caleb's concubine Ephah bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.

Caleb's concubine Maacah bore Sheber and Tirhanah.

She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah and Sheva the father of Machbenah and Gibea. Caleb's daughter was Achsah.

Solomon's son was Rehoboam, followed by Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,

Jabez called out to the God of Israel, "If only you would greatly bless me and expand my territory! May your hand be with me! Keep me from harm so I might not endure pain!" God answered his prayer.

The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered's wife Bithiah gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa.

(His Judahite wife gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the sons of Pharaoh's daughter Bithiah, whom Mered married.

The sons of Hodiah's wife, the sister of Naham: the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. But his brothers did not have many sons, so their whole clan was not as numerous as the sons of Judah.

The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn -- (Now he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph, Israel's son. So Reuben is not listed as firstborn in the genealogical records.

The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Their relatives, listed according to their families, included Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber -- seven in all.

So the God of Israel stirred up King Pul of Assyria (that is, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria), and he carried away the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh and took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this very day.

These are the men David put in charge of music in the Lord's sanctuary, after the ark was placed there.

They performed music before the sanctuary of the meeting tent until Solomon built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. They carried out their tasks according to regulations.

The rest of their fellow Levites were assigned to perform the remaining tasks at God's sanctuary.

But Aaron and his descendants offered sacrifices on the altar for burnt offerings and on the altar for incense as they had been assigned to do in the most holy sanctuary. They made atonement for Israel, just as God's servant Moses had ordered.

These were the areas where Aaron's descendants lived: The following belonged to the Kohathite clan, for they received the first allotment:

(But the city's land and nearby towns were allotted to Caleb son of Jephunneh.)

The rest of Kohath's descendants were allotted ten cities in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The clans of Gershom's descendants received thirteen cities within the territory of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh (in Bashan).

The clans of Merari's descendants were allotted twelve cities within the territory of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

So the Israelites gave to the Levites these cities and their pasturelands.

The clans of Kohath's descendants also received territory within the tribe of Ephraim.

Within the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh, the rest of Kohath's descendants received Aner and its pasturelands and Bileam and its pasturelands.

The following belonged to Gershom's descendants: Within the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan and its pasturelands and Ashtaroth and its pasturelands.

The following belonged to the rest of Merari's descendants: Within the territory of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono and its pasturelands, and Tabor and its pasturelands.

The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Samuel. They were leaders of their families. In the time of David there were 22,600 warriors listed in Tola's genealogical records.

The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, who was born to Manasseh's Aramean concubine. She also gave birth to Makir the father of Gilead.

Now Makir married a wife from the Huppites and Shuppites. (His sister's name was Maacah.) Zelophehad was Manasseh's second son; he had only daughters.

Maacah, Makir's wife, gave birth to a son, whom she named Peresh. His brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rekem.

On the border of Manasseh's territory were Beth-Shean and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, Megiddo and its surrounding towns, and Dor and its surrounding towns. The descendants of Joseph, Israel's son, lived here.

The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet's sons.

The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah,

Bela's sons were Addar, Gera, Abihud,

The father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon; his wife's name was Maacah.

Azariah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub the leader in God's temple;

Their relatives, who were leaders of their families, numbered 1,760. They were capable men who were assigned to carry out the various tasks of service in God's temple.

he serves to this day at the King's Gate on the east. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the descendants of Levi.

Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his relatives from his family (the Korahites) were assigned to guard the entrance to the sanctuary. Their ancestors had guarded the entrance to the Lord's dwelling place.

They and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the Lord's sanctuary (that is, the tabernacle).

The four head gatekeepers, who were Levites, were assigned to guard the storerooms and treasuries in God's sanctuary.

They would spend the night in their posts all around God's sanctuary, for they were assigned to guard it and would open it with the key every morning.

The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua.

Saul told his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and stab me with it. Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come and torture me." But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died.

So Saul and his three sons died; his whole household died together.

When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.

So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord's instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits.

He did not seek the Lord's guidance, so the Lord killed him and transferred the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

In the past, even when Saul was king, you were Israel's commanding general. The Lord your God said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over my people Israel.'"

David and the whole Israelite army advanced to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). (The Jebusites, the land's original inhabitants, lived there.)

David said, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites first will become commanding general!" So Joab son of Zeruiah attacked first and became commander.

David's power steadily grew, for the Lord who commands armies was with him.

These were the leaders of David's warriors who helped establish and stabilize his rule over all Israel, in accordance with the Lord's word.

This is the list of David's warriors: Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was head of the officers. He killed three hundred men with his spear in a single battle.

So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the city gate. They carried it back to David, but David refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

He even killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall. The Egyptian had a spear as big as the crossbeam of a weaver's loom; Benaiah attacked him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

Some from Benjamin and Judah also came to David's stronghold.

But a spirit empowered Amasai, the leader of the thirty warriors, and he said: "We are yours, O David! We support you, O son of Jesse! May you greatly prosper! May those who help you prosper! Indeed your God helps you!" So David accepted them and made them leaders of raiding bands.

The following is a record of the armed warriors who came with their leaders and joined David in Hebron in order to make David king in Saul's place, in accordance with the Lord's decree:

Jehoiada, the leader of Aaron's descendants, brought 3,700 men with him,

From Benjamin, Saul's tribe, there were 3,000, most of whom, up to that time, had been loyal to Saul.

David said to the whole Israelite assembly, "If you so desire and the Lord our God approves, let's spread the word to our brothers who remain in all the regions of Israel, and to the priests and Levites in their cities, so they may join us.

Let's move the ark of our God back here, for we did not seek his will throughout Saul's reign."

So David assembled all Israel from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim.

The Lord was so furious with Uzzah, he killed him, because he reached out his hand and touched the ark. He died right there before God.

David was angry because the Lord attacked Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah, which remains its name to this very day.

So David did not move the ark to the City of David; he left it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

The ark of God remained in Obed-Edom's house for three months; the Lord blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.

So they marched against Baal Perazim and David defeated them there. David said, "Using me as his instrument, God has burst out against my enemies like water bursts out." So that place is called Baal Perazim.

The Philistines left their idols there, so David ordered that they be burned.

So David again asked God what he should do. This time God told him, "Don't march up after them; circle around them and come against them in front of the trees.

So David became famous in all the lands; the Lord caused all the nations to fear him.

The priests and Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; one of his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; one of the descendants of Merari, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

So David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the Lord's covenant from the house of Obed-Edom with celebration.

When God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the Lord's covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

All Israel brought up the ark of the Lord's covenant; they were shouting, blowing trumpets, sounding cymbals, and playing stringed instruments.

As the ark of the Lord's covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him.

When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord's name.

and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of God's covenant.

O children of Israel, God's servant, you descendants of Jacob, God's chosen ones!

Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy! Let the nations say, 'The Lord reigns!'

Let the sea and everything in it shout! Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!