Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him.

So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your land, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.

In the morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him to Bamoth-baal. From there he saw the outskirts of the people’s camp.

Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”

If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says.

So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.”

Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time,

My people,
remember what Balak king of Moab proposed,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from the Acacia Grove to Gilgal
so that you may acknowledge
the Lord’s righteous acts.

When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border at the edge of his territory.

Balak asked Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and sent for Balaam and the officials who were with him.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord will meet with me. I will tell you whatever He reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill.

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.

Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak brought me from Aram;
the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:
“Come, put a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel!”

“What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!”

Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.”

So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.”

The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”

Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak, get up and listen;
son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!

Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!”

Again Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there.”

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.

Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, “I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times.

Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me:

Balaam then arose and went back to his homeland, and Balak also went his way.

Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. Balak said to him: “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land and are living right across from me.

Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me:

The officials of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Balak sent officials again who were more numerous and higher in rank than the others.

They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Let nothing keep you from coming to me,

Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

Now are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

The gatekeepers’ descendants included:

Shallum’s descendants, Ater’s descendants, Talmon’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants, Hatita’s descendants, Shobai’s descendants, in all 139

The gatekeepers included:

Shallum’s descendants, Ater’s descendants, Talmon’s descendants, Akkub’s descendants, Hatita’s descendants, Shobai’s descendants 138.

The inheritance of Simeon’s descendants was within the territory of Judah’s descendants, because the share for Judah’s descendants was too large for them. So Simeon’s descendants received an inheritance within Judah’s portion.

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.

Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until He shows us favor.

The descendants of Solomon’s servants included:

Sotai’s descendants, Hassophereth’s descendants, Peruda’s descendants,

Shephatiah’s descendants, Hattil’s descendants, Pochereth-hazzebaim’s descendants, and Ami’s descendants.

Abishua’s son, Phinehas’s son,
Eleazar’s son, Aaron the chief priest’s son

The descendants of Solomon’s servants included:

Sotai’s descendants, Sophereth’s descendants,
Perida’s descendants,

Shephatiah’s descendants, Hattil’s descendants,
Pochereth-hazzebaim’s descendants, Amon’s descendants.

At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!”

When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it was a mistake and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.

So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two female slaves, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s.

As for the rest of Levi’s sons:
from Amram’s sons: Shubael;
from Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.

All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the Lord’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority.

“Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s household to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah, my father’s household, and from my father’s sons, He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.

They ate and drank with great joy in the Lord’s presence that day.

Then, for a second time, they made David’s son Solomon king; they anointed him as the Lord’s ruler, and Zadok as the priest.

So Solomon finished the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon’s heart to do for the Lord’s temple and for his own palace succeeded.

All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.

You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for it is exposing one’s own blood relative; both people will bear their punishment.

But if the priest’s daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she may share her father’s food. But no outsider may share it.

Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.
Let’s feast on each other’s love!

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to deny access to anyone—going or coming—to Judah’s King Asa.

Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king’s sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Since she was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.

Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in God’s temple. Jehoiada said to them, “Here is the king’s son! He must reign, just as the Lord promised concerning David’s sons.

Whenever the chest was brought by the Levites to the king’s overseers, and when they saw that there was a large amount of money, the king’s secretary and the high priest’s deputy came and emptied the chest, picked it up, and returned it to its place. They did this daily and gathered the money in abundance.

Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to those in charge of the labor on the Lord’s temple, who were hiring stonecutters and carpenters to renovate the Lord’s temple, also blacksmiths and coppersmiths to repair the Lord’s temple.

When they finished, they presented the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the Lord’s temple with it—articles for ministry and for making burnt offerings, and ladles and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the Lord’s temple throughout Jehoiada’s life.

They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to His command through Moses.

The priests went to the entrance of the Lord’s temple to cleanse it. They took all the unclean things they found in the Lord’s sanctuary to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. Then the Levites received them and took them outside to the Kidron Valley.

“What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them.

Pahath-moab’s descendants: Jeshua’s and Joab’s descendants 2,812

Kiriatharim’s, Chephirah’s, and Beeroth’s people743

Lod’s, Hadid’s, and Ono’s people725

The Levites included:

Jeshua’s and Kadmiel’s descendants from Hodaviah’s descendants 74

The temple servants included:

Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants,
Tabbaoth’s descendants,

Keros’s descendants,
Siaha’s descendants, Padon’s descendants,

Lebanah’s descendants, Hagabah’s descendants,
Akkub’s descendants,

Hagab’s descendants,
Shalmai’s descendants, Hanan’s descendants,

Giddel’s descendants, Gahar’s descendants,
Reaiah’s descendants,

Rezin’s descendants,
Nekoda’s descendants, Gazzam’s descendants,

Uzza’s descendants, Paseah’s descendants,
Besai’s descendants,

Asnah’s descendants,
Meunim’s descendants, Nephusim’s descendants,

Bakbuk’s descendants, Hakupha’s descendants,
Harhur’s descendants,

Bazluth’s descendants,
Mehida’s descendants, Harsha’s descendants,

Barkos’s descendants, Sisera’s descendants,
Temah’s descendants,

Jaalah’s descendants, Darkon’s descendants, Giddel’s descendants,

Delaiah’s descendants, Tobiah’s descendants, Nekoda’s descendants 652

After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra—

Seraiah’s son, Azariah’s son,
Hilkiah’s son,

Shallum’s son,
Zadok’s son, Ahitub’s son,

Amariah’s son, Azariah’s son,
Meraioth’s son,

Zerahiah’s son,
Uzzi’s son, Bukki’s son,

Gershom, from Phinehas’s descendants;
Daniel, from Ithamar’s descendants;
Hattush, from David’s descendants,

I am going to make the sun’s shadow that goes down on Ahaz’s stairway go back by 10 steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back the 10 steps it had descended.

Pahath-moab’s descendants: Jeshua’s and Joab’s descendants 2,818

Kiriath-jearim’s, Chephirah’s, and Beeroth’s men743

Lod’s, Hadid’s, and Ono’s people721

The temple servants included:

Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants,
Tabbaoth’s descendants,

Keros’s descendants,
Sia’s descendants, Padon’s descendants,