The Descendants of Reuben

¹These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.

²And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.

³The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel:Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴The descendants of Joel:Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,

⁵Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son,

⁶and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileserking of Assyria carried into exile.Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.

⁷His relatives by their clans are recorded in their genealogy:Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,

⁸and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.

⁹They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead.

¹⁰During the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands, and they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the region east of Gilead.

The Descendants of Gad

¹¹The descendants of Gad lived next to the Reubenites in the land of Bashan, as far as Salecah:

¹²Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Jaanai and Shaphat, who lived in Bashan.

¹³Their kinsmen by families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all.

¹⁴These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz.

¹⁵Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.

¹⁶They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.

¹⁷All of them were recorded in the genealogies during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 warriors—valiant men who carried the shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for battle.

¹⁹They waged war against the Hagrites, as well as Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

²⁰And because they cried out to God in battle, they were helped against their enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were delivered into their hands. Because they put their trust in God, He answered their prayers.

²¹They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys. They also took 100,000 captives,

²²and many others fell slain, because the battle belonged to God. And they occupied the land until the exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

²³Now the people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous. They settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir, also known as Mount Hermon).

²⁴These were the heads of their families:Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel.They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their families.

²⁵But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

²⁶So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.

Punishment Brings No Repentance

¹Hear this word,you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,you women who oppress the poorand crush the needy,who say to your husbands,“Bring us more to drink.”

²The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:“Behold, the days are comingwhen you will be taken away with hooks,and your posterity with fishhooks.

³You will go out through broken walls,each one straight ahead of her,and you will be cast out toward Harmon,”declares the LORD.

⁴“Go to Bethel and transgress;rebel even more at Gilgal!Bring your sacrifices every morning,your tithes every three days.

⁵Offer leavened bread as a thank offering,and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings.For that is what you children of Israel love to do,”declares the Lord GOD.

⁶“I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teethand all your towns with lack of bread,yet you did not return to Me,”declares the LORD.

⁷“I also withheld the rain from youwhen the harvest was three months away.I sent rain on one citybut withheld it from another.One field received rain;another without rain withered.

⁸People staggered from city to cityfor water to drink,but they were not satisfied;yet you did not return to Me,”declares the LORD.

⁹“I struck you with blight and mildewin your growing gardens and vineyards;the locust devoured your fig and olive trees,yet you did not return to Me,”declares the LORD.

¹⁰“I sent plagues among youlike those of Egypt;I killed your young men with the sword,along with your captured horses.I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp,yet you did not return to Me,”declares the LORD.

¹¹“Some of you I overthrewas I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,and you were like a firebrandsnatched from a blaze,yet you did not return to Me,”declares the LORD.

¹²“Therefore, that is what I will doto you, O Israel,and since I will do this to you,prepare to meet your God, O Israel!

¹³For behold, He who forms the mountains,who creates the windand reveals His thoughts to man,who turns the dawn to darknessand strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.”

Hezekiah Proclaims a Passover

¹Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh inviting them to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel.

²For the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to keep the Passover in the second month,

³since they had been unable to keep it at the regular time, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not been gathered in Jerusalem.

⁴This plan pleased the king and the whole assembly.

⁵So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it in great numbers as prescribed.

⁶At the command of the king, the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read:“Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

⁷Do not be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that He made them an object of horror, as you can see.

⁸Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger will turn away from you.

⁹For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

¹⁰And the couriers traveled from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and mocked them.

¹¹Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹²Moreover, the power of God was on the people in Judah to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and his officials according to the word of the LORD.

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

¹³In the second month, a very great assembly gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

¹⁴They proceeded to remove the altars in Jerusalem and to take away the incense altars and throw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.

¹⁶They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splattered the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites.

¹⁷Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD.

¹⁸A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone

¹⁹who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

²⁰And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.

²²And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.

²³The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy.

²⁴For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly, and a great number of priests consecrated themselves.

²⁵Then the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced along with the priests and Levites and the whole assembly that had come from Israel, including the foreigners who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah.

²⁶So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.

²⁷Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.

The LORD Has Heard My Voice

¹I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy.

²Because He has inclined His ear to me,I will call on Him as long as I live.

³The ropes of death entangled me;the anguish of Sheol overcame me;I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.

⁴Then I called on the name of the LORD:“O LORD, deliver my soul!”

⁵The LORD is gracious and righteous;our God is full of compassion.

⁶The LORD preserves the simplehearted;I was helpless, and He saved me.

⁷Return to your rest, O my soul,for the LORD has been good to you.

⁸For You have delivered my soul from death,my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

⁹I will walk before the LORDin the land of the living.

¹⁰I believed, therefore I said,“I am greatly afflicted.”

¹¹In my alarm I said,“All men are liars!”

¹²How can I repay the LORDfor all His goodness to me?

¹³I will lift the cup of salvationand call on the name of the LORD.

¹⁴I will fulfill my vows to the LORDin the presence of all His people.

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the LORDis the death of His saints.

¹⁶Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant;I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;You have broken my bonds.

¹⁷I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgivingand call on the name of the LORD.

¹⁸I will fulfill my vows to the LORDin the presence of all His people,

¹⁹in the courts of the LORD’s house,in your midst, O Jerusalem.Hallelujah!