Then God said, “Let there be light-bearers (sun, moon, stars) in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be useful for signs (tokens) [of God’s provident care], and for marking seasons, days, and years;

And [in that garden] the Lord God caused to grow from the ground every tree that is desirable and pleasing to the sight and good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the [experiential] knowledge (recognition) of [the difference between] good and evil.

and He overthrew (demolished, ended) those cities, and the entire valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

The child [Isaac] grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

When the boys grew up, Esau was an able and skilled hunter, a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet and peaceful man, living in tents.

But you shall live by your sword,
And serve your brother;
However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred],
That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him].”

Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Laban asked, “What shall I give you?” Jacob replied, “You shall not give me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me [which I now propose], I will again pasture and keep your flock:

And he put [a distance of] three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob was then left in care of the rest of Laban’s flock.

But Jacob replied, “You know, my lord, that the children are frail and need gentle care, and the nursing flocks and herds [with young] are of concern to me; for if the men should drive them hard for a single day, all the flocks will die.

and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau born to him in Canaan.

And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon. She bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah.

These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs born of Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me in the house, my master does not concern himself with anything; he has put everything that he owns in my charge.

The warden committed to Joseph’s care (management) all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was in charge of it.

When the famine was spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold [surplus grain] to the Egyptians; and the famine grew [extremely] severe in the land of Egypt.

If you take this one also from me, and harm or an accident happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’

when he sees that the young man is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in [great] sorrow.

And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

Now [the people of] Israel lived in the country of Egypt, in [the land of] Goshen, and they gained possessions and acquired property there and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

but the Israelites were prolific and increased greatly; they multiplied and became extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them.

And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the [extended] families of the Korahites.

But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set.

And it happened, as the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with [a voice of] thunder.

But if the ox has tried to gore on a previous occasion, and its owner has been warned, but has not kept it confined and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner shall be put to death as well.

But if it is actually stolen from him [when in his care], he shall make restitution to its owner.

‘All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the Lord is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long.

But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing, because they were assigned the care of the holy things which they carried on their shoulders [when the tabernacle was moved].

The people spent all that day and all night and all the next day and caught and gathered the quail (the one who gathered least gathered ten homers) and they spread them out for themselves around the camp [to cure them by drying].

Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, took action,

and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to Him, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself; the one whom He will choose He will bring near to Himself.

Do this: Take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company,

Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi,

Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company are to appear before the Lord tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron.

Then Korah assembled all the congregation against Moses and Aaron at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). And the glory and brilliance of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

“Say to the congregation, ‘Get away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

So they got back from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents with their wives and their sons and their little children.

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the men who supported Korah, with all their possessions.

as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman—that is, one who is not of the descendants of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord; so that he will not become like Korah and as his company—just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

But those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died because of Korah.

So you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar [of burnt offering and the altar of incense], so that there will no longer be wrath on the Israelites [as with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram].

The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord,

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, so that they became a [warning] sign.

But Korah’s sons did not die [because they did not participate in the rebellion].

“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among those who assembled together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin [as did all those who rebelled at Kadesh], and he had no sons.

“But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God].
You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate!
Then he abandoned God who had made him,
And scorned the Rock of his salvation.

‘Outside the sword will bereave,
And inside [the chambers] terror—
For both young man and virgin,
For the nursing child and the man of gray hair.

But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord [for help], the Lord raised up a man to rescue them, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the Israelites sent a gift of tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab.

Gilead’s wife bore him sons, and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”

So the woman [in due time] gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the boy grew and the Lord blessed him.

But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved off.

And [the time came when] the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

But the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

Now Samuel grew; and the Lord was with him and He let none of his words fail [to be fulfilled].

And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as [the territory] below Beth-car.

And now, here is the king walking before you. As for me, I am old and gray, and here are my sons with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

Then David left his provisions in the care of the supply keeper, and ran to the ranks and came and greeted his brothers.

There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David grew steadily stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker [to the point of being powerless].

But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb
Which he had purchased and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It ate his food, drank from his cup, it lay in his arms,
And was like a daughter to him.

When King David came to Bahurim, a man named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there. He was of the family of Saul’s household and he was cursing continually as he came out.

But the men said, “You should not go out [to battle with us]. For if in fact we retreat, they will not care about us; even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. So now it is better that you be ready to help us from the city [of Mahanaim].”

The man told Joab, “Even if I were to feel the weight of a thousand pieces of silver in my hands, I would not put out my hand against the king’s son; for we all heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, ‘Protect the young man Absalom, for my sake.’

Then Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men [from the tribe of] of Judah to meet King David,

Then they [repeatedly] crossed the ford to bring over the king’s household (family), and to do what pleased him. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan,

And look, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim; he is the one who cursed me with a sinister curse the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan [on my return], and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

But he ignored the advice which the elders gave him and consulted the young men who grew up with him and served him.

The young men who had grown up with him answered, “This is what you should say to this people who told you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but as for you, make our yoke lighter’—say this to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins [and my reign will be even more severe].

They destroyed the [walls of the] cities, and each man threw a stone on every piece of good land, covering it [with stones]. And they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees, until they left nothing in Kir-hareseth [Moab’s capital city] but its stones. Then the [stone] slingers surrounded the city and destroyed it.

And he brought the letter to the king of Israel. It said, “And now when this letter comes to you, I will have sent my servant Naaman to you, so that you may heal him of his leprosy.”

When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him too, [while he is] in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And Ahaziah fled to Megiddo and died there.

So the king of Assyria listened to him; and he went up against Damascus and captured it, and carried its people away into exile to Kir, and put Rezin [king of Aram] to death.

When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite.

The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema.

The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud,

Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.

Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera—he forced them into exile; he became the father of Uzza and Ahihud.

Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives of his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, doorkeepers of the Tent; and their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance.

For the divisions of the gatekeepers: Of the Korahites: Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.

Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

Also Jehoiada placed the offices and officers of the house of the Lord under the authority of the Levitical priests, whom David had [previously] assigned over the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing in accordance with the order of David.

God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabs who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

So Jotham grew powerful, because he directed his ways before the Lord his God.

Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the voluntary offerings to God, to apportion the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things.

Beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter. Why should damage increase to the detriment of the kings?”

Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, with beams laid in the walls; and this work goes on with diligence and care and is succeeding in their hands.

“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes or reed grass grow without water?

“Though its roots grow old in the earth
And its stump dies in the dry soil,

“Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged,
Older than your father.

“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,
And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),

Let thorns grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley.”

So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.

“Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?

Commit your way to the Lord;
Trust in Him also and He will do it.