Twelve Captains for Twelve Months

¹This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division:

²Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division, which was assigned the first month. There were 24,000 men in his division.

³He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army commanders for the first month.

⁴Dodaithe Ahohite was in charge of the division for the second month, and Mikloth was the leader. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁵The third army commander, as chief for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁶This Benaiah was mighty among the Thirty and was over the Thirty, and his son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

⁷The fourth, for the fourth month, was Joab’s brother Asahel, and his son Zebadiah was commander after him. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁸The fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuththe Izrahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁹The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁰The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹¹The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹²The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹³The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁴The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁵The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldaithe Netophathite, from the family of Othniel. There were 24,000 men in his division.

The Leaders of the Twelve Tribes

¹⁶These officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel:Over the Reubenites was Eliezer son of Zichri;over the Simeonites was Shephatiah son of Maacah;

¹⁷over Levi was Hashabiah son of Kemuel;over Aaron was Zadok;

¹⁸over Judah was Elihu, one of David’s brothers;over Issachar was Omri son of Michael;

¹⁹over Zebulun was Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;over Naphtali was Jerimoth son of Azriel;

²⁰over the Ephraimites was Hoshea son of Azaziah;over one of the half-tribes of Manasseh was Joel son of Pedaiah;

²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead was Iddo son of Zechariah;over Benjamin was Jaasiel son of Abner;

²²and over Dan was Azarel son of Jeroham.These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.

²⁴Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles of King David.

David’s Various Overseers

²⁵Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses.

²⁶Ezri son of Chelub was in charge of the workers in the fields who tilled the soil.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²⁸Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the foothills.Joash was in charge of the stores of olive oil.

²⁹Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon.Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.All these officials were in charge of King David’s property.

The Counselors

³²David’s uncle Jonathan was a counselor; he was a man of insight and a scribe.Jehiel son of Hachmoni attended to the sons of the king.

³³Ahithophel was the king’s counselor.Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.

³⁴Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah, then by Abiathar.Joab was the commander of the king’s army.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

¹Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

²And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

³When his master saw that the LORD was with him and made him prosper in all he did,

⁴Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.

⁵From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.

⁶So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

⁷and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

⁸But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.

⁹No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”

¹⁰Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her.

¹¹One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside.

¹²She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.

Joseph Falsely Imprisoned

¹³When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

¹⁴she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.

¹⁵When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁶So Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s cloak beside her until his master came home.

¹⁷Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me,

¹⁸but when I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” he burned with anger.

²⁰So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined.While Joseph was there in the prison,

²¹the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

²²And the warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care, so that he was responsible for all that was done in the prison.

²³The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

The Crime of the Benjamites

¹Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

²But she was unfaithful to himand left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah.After she had been there four months,

³her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking his servant and a pair of donkeys. So the girl brought him into her father’s house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.

⁴His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay, so he remained with him three days, eating, drinking, and lodging there.

⁵On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning and prepared to depart, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and then you can go.”

⁶So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”

⁷The man got up to depart, but his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night.

⁸On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to depart, but the girl’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate.

⁹When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.”

¹⁰But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

¹¹When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Please, let us stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night here.”

¹²But his master replied, “We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.”

¹³He continued, “Come, let us try to reach one of these towns to spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”

¹⁴So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.

¹⁵They stopped to go in and lodge in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one would take them into his home for the night.

¹⁶That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.

¹⁷When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?”

¹⁸The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD;but no one has taken me into his home,

¹⁹even though there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the maidservant and young man with me. There is nothing that we, your servants, lack.”

²⁰“Peace to you,” said the old man. “Let me supply everything you need. Only do not spend the night in the square.”

²¹So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank.

²²While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”

²³The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage.

²⁴Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”

²⁵But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go.

²⁶Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light.

²⁷In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house to go out on his journey, there was his concubine, collapsed in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

²⁸“Get up,” he told her. “Let us go.” But there was no response. So the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

²⁹When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

³⁰And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!”

Do Not Boast about Tomorrow

¹Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand is a burden,but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

⁴Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood,but who can withstand jealousy?

⁵Better an open rebukethan love that is concealed.

⁶The wounds of a friend are faithful,but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷The soul that is full loathes honey,but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that strays from its nestis a man who wanders from his home.

⁹Oil and incense bring joy to the heart,and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend,and do not go to your brother’s housein the day of your calamity;better a neighbor nearbythan a brother far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,so that I can answer him who taunts me.

¹²The prudent see danger and take cover,but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

¹³Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger;get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁴If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,it will be counted to him as a curse.

¹⁵A constant dripping on a rainy dayand a contentious woman are alike—

¹⁶restraining her is like holding back the windor grasping oil with one’s right hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron,so one man sharpens another.

¹⁸Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,and he who looks after his master will be honored.

¹⁹As water reflects the face,so the heart reflects the true man.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddonare never satisfied;so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

²²Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle,yet his folly will not depart from him.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks,and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches are not forever,nor does a crown endure to every generation.

²⁵When hay is removed and new growth appearsand the grass from the hills is gathered,

²⁶the lambs will provide you with clothing,and the goats with the price of a field.

²⁷You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—food for your householdand nourishment for your maidservants.