From the Greek Septuagint text as was used by First Century Christians

Chapter 1

¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Cainan, MaHalaleEl, Jared, ³ Enoch, MethuSelah, Lamech ⁴ Noah.

Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham, and JaPheth.

⁵ JaPheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, EliSa, Tubal, Meshech, and Thiras.

⁶ Gomer’s sons were AshKenaz, RiPhath, and TogarMah.

⁷ Javan’s sons were EliSha, Tharsis, KitTim, and Rodanim.

⁸ Ham’s sons were Cush, MesraIm, Put, and CanaAn.

⁹ Cush’s sons were Saba, Havilah, SaBatha, Regma, and SebethAha.

Regma’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.

¹⁰ It was Cush who fathered Nimrod, who became a giant on the earth.

¹⁷ Shem’s descendants were Elam, Assur, ArphaxAd ^{18 - 23 24} ShelAh, ²⁵ Eber, Peleg, Ragav, ²⁶ Seruk, Nahor, and Terah, ²⁷ and Abraham’s sons were ²⁸ Isaac and IshMaEl.

²⁹ These are the genealogies: The firstborn of IshMaEl was NabayOth, then Kedar, NabDeEl, MabSam, ³⁰ MasMa, Idouma, MasSe, Adad, ThaIman, ³¹ JetTur, Naphes, and Kedma. They were the sons of IshMaEl.

³² The sons of KeTurAh (Abraham’s concubine) were ZemBram, Jexan, Midian, Medan, Sobak, and Soe. The sons of Jexan were Dedan and Sheba. ³³ The sons of Midian were GaiPhar, Opher, Enok, Avida, and ElLada. These were the sons of KeTurAh.

³⁴ Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac’s sons were Jacob and Esau. ³⁵ Esau’s sons were EliPhaz, RaguEl, JeuEl, Eglom, and KorAh. ³⁶ The sons of EliPhaz were Teman, Omar, Sophar, Gotham, and Kenez; ³⁷ and through Timna he had a son named Amalec. ³⁸ The sons of Seir were Lotan, Sobal, Sebegon, Ana, Dishon, Osar, and Disan. ³⁹ Lotan’s sons were ChorRi and Heman. Lotan also had a sister named Thamna.

⁴⁰ Sobal’s sons were Golam, ManaHath, GaiBel, Sob, and Onam. Sebegon’s sons were Aia and Ana. ⁴¹ Ana’s son was Daison, and Daison’s sons were Emeron, Eseban, JethRan, and CharRan.

⁴² Osar’s sons were BalaAn, Zoukam, and Jokan.

Daisan’s son was Aran.

⁴³ These are the kings who ruled in Edom before there were any kings in Israel: First there was Balak (the son of Beor), [who ruled from] DenNaba. ⁴⁴ And then he died, and Jobab (the son of Zara) started reigning from Bozrah. ⁴⁵ And after Jobab died, Asom (who was from the land of the Temanites) became the king. ⁴⁶ Then after Asom died, Adad (the son of Barad) started to rule – he’s the one who captured Midian in the plains of Moab – and the name of his city was GetThaim.

⁴⁷ Then Adad died, and Sebla from MasekKah became the king. ⁴⁸ And after Sebla died, Saul from RobOth by the River became the king. ⁴⁹ Then Saul died, and BelaEnNor (the son of Achobor) became the king. ⁵⁰ And when BelaEnNor died, Adad (the son of Barad) started ruling after him. The name of his city was Phogor.

⁵¹ These were the Governors of Edom: Governor Thamna, Governor Golada, Governor Jether, ⁵² Governor EliBamah, Governor ElAs, Governor Phinon, ⁵³ Governor Kenez, Governor Thaiman, Governor Mabsar, ⁵⁴ Governor MagediEl, and Governor Zaphoin. These were the Governors of Edom.

Chapter 2

¹ These are the names of the sons and Lords of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, IsSachar, ZebuLun, ² Dan, Joseph, BenJamin, NaphTali, Gad, and Asher.

³ The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, and SelOm. All three were born to him through the daughter of Shua the CanaAnite. Er was his firstborn, but he proved to be wicked before Jehovah, so He killed him. ⁴ Then, through his daughter-in-law Tamar, he fathered Perez and Zerah. So, all five were the sons of Judah.

⁵ The sons of Perez were Esrom and JemouEl. ⁶ The sons of Zerah were Zambri, AiThan, Heman, Kalchal, and Darad… five sons. ⁷ The son of Charmi was Achar, who brought trouble on Israel by breaking the agreement [with God] and was then destroyed. ⁸ The son of AiThan was AzariJah. ⁹ The sons of Esrom who were born to him through JeRameEl were Aram and ChelubAi. ¹⁰ Then Aram fathered AminAdab, and AminAdab fathered Nahshon, who became the head of the house of Judah.

¹¹ Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, ¹² Boaz fathered Obed, and Obed fathered Jesse. ¹³ Jesse’s sons were EliAb (his firstborn), AminAdab (the second), SamaAh (the third), ¹⁴ NathaniEl (the fourth), ZadDai (the fifth), ¹⁵ Asom (the sixth), and David (the seventh). ¹⁶ Their sisters were ZeruJah and AbiGail. The three sons of ZeruJah were AbiShai, JoAb, and AsahEl. ¹⁷ AbiGail gave birth to Amasa (whose father was JoThor the IshMaElite) ¹⁸ and Caleb (the son of Esrom). He then took AzoUba (the daughter of JeriOth) as his wife, and these are her sons: JaSar, SoUbab, and Orna. ¹⁹ Then AzoUba died and Caleb married Ephrath, who gave birth to Or. ²⁰ Or then fathered Ouri, and Ouri fathered BeseleEl.

²¹ It was after this that Lord Esron [had sex with] the daughter of Machir (who was the father of Gilead), then he married her when he was sixty-five years old, and she gave birth to Segub. ²² Then Segub fathered JaIr, who [ruled over] twenty-three cities in Gilead. ²³ Then Gedsur and Aram took JaIr’s villages (including Kanath – some sixty villages all together), which belonged to the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead.

²⁴ It was after Esron died that Lord Caleb moved to EphRatha.

Esron’s wife was AbiJah, and she gave birth to AsChod, who became the father of Thekoe.

²⁵ These are the sons of JeRameEl (Esron’s firstborn): His firstborn was Ram, then BaAna, and then Aran and his brother Asom. ²⁶ But JeRameEl also had another wife whose name was Atara, and she was the mother of Ozom. ²⁷ These were the sons of Ram: His firstborn was JeRameEl, then MaAs, JaMin, and Akor. ²⁸ Ozom’s sons were SamAi and JaDae. The sons of Samai were Nadab and AbiSur. ²⁹ Then AbiSur married AbiHail, and she gave birth to AchAbar and ModDi.

³⁰ The sons of Nadab were Seled and Aphain. Then Lord Seled died without any children, ³¹ but [his brother] Aphain fathered IsEmiEl, who fathered Sosan, and Sosan fathered AadAi. ³² The sons AadAi were AchiSamas, JeTher, and JoNathan. Then Lord Jether died without having children. ³³ But the sons of JoNathan were Phaled and Ozam. These were all descendants of JeRameEl.

³⁴ Now, no sons were born to Sosan, just daughters. But Sosan was given an Egyptian slave named JochEl, ³⁵ and he gave him his daughter as his wife, then she gave birth to Ethi. ³⁶ Then Ethi fathered Nathan, Nathan fathered Zabed, ³⁷ Zabed fathered AphamEl, AphamEl fathered Obed, ³⁸ Obed fathered JeOu, JeOu fathered AzariJah, ³⁹ AzariJah fathered Helles, Helles fathered EliaAsa, ⁴⁰ EliaAsa fathered SosomAi, SosomAi fathered SaloUm, ⁴¹ SaloUm fathered JechemiJah, JechemiJah fathered EliSama, and EliSama fathered IshMaEl.

⁴² The firstborn son of Caleb (JeRameEl’s brother) was MariSha, ⁴³ who fathered Ziph and Hebron. ⁴³ Hebron’s sons were KorAh, Thaphous, Rekom, and SamaAh. ⁴⁴ SamaAh fathered RaEm, and he fathered Jeklan. Jeklan then fathered SamAi, ⁴⁵ and SamAi’s son was MaOn, who founded BethZur.

⁴⁶ Caleb’s concubine GaiPha gave birth to ArRan, Mosa, and Gezoue. ⁴⁷ The sons of Caleb’s concubine AdDai were Ragem, JoAtham, Sogar, Phalek, GaiPha, and SagaE. ⁴⁸ And his sons through his concubine Mocha were Saber, Tharam, ⁴⁹ and SagaE, who fathered MarMena, MachaMena, and GaiBaAh. Caleb also had a daughter named Ascha. ⁵⁰ These were the descendants of Caleb.

The sons of Or were: EphRatha (his firstborn), Sobal (who founded Kiriath JaIrim), ⁵¹ and Arim (who founded BethGedor). ⁵² These are the sons of Sobal (the founder of Kiriath JaIrim, AraAh, AiSi, AmManith, ⁵³ OumaSphae, and the city of JaIr): AiThalim, MiphiThim, EsamaThim, and EmaSaraim. They were the ones who fathered the SaraThaeans and the sons of EsthaAm.

⁵⁴ Salma founded BethLehem, the Netophathites, AtarOth of the house of JoAb, half of the houses of Malathi and Esari, ⁵⁵ the families of the scribes who live in JabIsh, the TharGathiim, the Samathiim, the Sochathim (the Kinaeans), those who come from Mesema, and he was the father of the house of Rechab.

Chapter 3

¹ These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was AchinaAm the JezreElite. The second was DaniEl, the son of AbiGail the Carmelite. ² The third was AbSalom, the son of Mocha, who was the daughter of Tholmai the king of Gedsour. The fourth was AdoniJah, the son of HagGith. ³ The fifth was SaphatYa. ⁴ These sons were born to him in Hebron where he reigned for seven years and six months.

Then he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-three years, ⁵ and four sons were born to him there through BathSheba (the daughter of AmiEl). They were KamaAh, Sobab, Nathan, and Solomon. ⁶ Also, there were Ebar, EliSa, EliPhaleth, ⁷ NagAi and Naphek, EAphie, ⁸ EliSama, EliAda, and EliPhala… nine sons who were born David, ⁹ in addition to the sons of his concubines and their sister Tamar.

¹⁰ The descendants of Solomon were RehoBoam; then his son AbiJah; then his son Asa; then his son JehoShaphat; then his son ¹¹ JehoRam; then his son AhaziJah; then his son JehoAsh; then his son ¹² AmaziJah; then his son AzariJah; then his son JoTham; then his son ¹³ Ahaz; then his son HezekiJah; then his son ManasSeh; then his son ¹⁴ Amon; then his son JosiJah.

¹⁵ The sons of JosiJah were JoAnan (his firstborn); the second was JehoYakim; the third was ZedekiJah; and the fourth was ShalLum. ¹⁶ The sons of JehoYakim were JeconiJah and ZedekiJah. ¹⁷ Then the sons of JeconiJah were Asir, SalaphiEl, ¹⁸ MelchiRam, PhadiJah, Sanesar, JeKemYa, Osamath, and NabadYas. ¹⁹ The sons of SalathiEl were ZerubBabel and Shimei. The sons of ZerubBabel were MosolLam, AnaniJah, and their sister SalomEth. ²⁰ He also had five more sons, AsoUbe, Ool, BarachiJah, AsadiJah, and AsoBed. ²¹ The descendants of AnaniJah were PhaletTiJah; his son JesiJah; his son Raphal; his son Orna; his son AbdiJah; his son ShecheniJah; ²² and his son ShemaiJah. ShemaiJah had six sons, HatTush, Igal, BeriJah, NeaJah, and Shaphat. ²³ NeaJah had three sons, EliOnai, HezekiJah, and EzriKam. ²⁴ EliOnai had seven sons, OdolJa, EliAsEbon, PhadaJa, AkoUb, JoAnan, DalaiJa, and Anan.

Chapter 4

¹ The sons of Judah were Perez, Esrom, Carmi, Or, Soubal, ² and his son Rada. Soubal fathered Jeth, and Jeth fathered AchiMai and LaAd.

These are genealogies of SaraThi: ³ The sons of AiTam were JezreEl, Jesman, and IdBash. Their sister’s name was EselebBon. ⁴ PhanouEl was the father of Gedor, and Azer was the father of Osan. The firstborn son of Or was EphRatha, who was the founder of BethLehem. ⁵ And AsoUr (whose father was Thekoe) had two wives, Aoda and ThoAda. ⁶ Aoda gave birth to OchaJa, Ephal, Thaiman, and Aasther (those were all her sons), ⁷ and the sons of ThoAda were Serek, SaAr, and Ethnan.

⁸ Kos fathered Enob and Sabatha. They’re related to the brother of Rechab, the son of JaRin.

⁹ JaBez was the most honorable among all his brothers, and his mother named him JaBez because she said, ‘I have given birth in pain (heb. JaBez).’ ¹⁰ For it was JaBez who called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh, please bless me, expand my borders, and may Your hand be with me… teach me Your wisdom so I don’t [make a fool] of myself.’

Well, God gave him everything that he asked for.

¹¹ And Caleb (the father of AsCha) fathered Machir, who became the father of AsSathon. ¹² Then AsSathon fathered BathRaiAn, BesSee, and Thana, who was the founder of the city of NaAs and a relative of ESelOm the Kenezite, who lived in Repha. ¹³ The sons of Kenez were GothoniEl, and SaraJa. GothoniEl’s sons were Athath ¹⁴ and Manathi (who fathered GoPhera). SaraJa fathered JoAb, who was the father of the HaraShim, who were craftsmen.

¹⁵ The descendants of Caleb (the son of JePhonne) were Era, ElAh, and NoOm; and the son of ElAh was Kenez.

¹⁶ The sons of GeseEl were Ziph, Zepha, ThephJa, and EseraEl.

¹⁷ The sons of Esri were JeTher, Morad, Apher, and JaMon. JeTher was the father of MaRon, SemAi, and MaReth… who was the father of EsthaImon. ¹⁸ Then his wife AdiJa gave birth to JaRed, who was the father of Gedor and Aber, who was the father of Socho and ChetiEl, who was the father of Samon.

The son of BetThiAh (the daughter of Pharaoh who was married to Mored) ¹⁹ was IdouJah. His sons (through the sister of Nachem) were Keila, Garmi, and EsthaImon the Nochathite. ²⁰ The sons of SemiOn were AmNon, Ana (through Phana), ThilOn (through Sei), ZoAth, and the sons through ZoAb.

²¹ The son of SelOm (Judah’s son) was Er. He became the father of Lechab and LaAda, who was the father of Marisa, all the descendants of the families of EphraDabak, the house of Esoba, ²² JoAkim, the men of ChozEba, JoAs, and Saphat (who lived in Moab, and returned [with Moabite wives named] AbeDerin and AthoUkiIm). ²³ This [family] became the potters who live in AtaIm and Gadera, and since they were supporters of the king, they became very powerful in these cities.

²⁴ The sons of Simeon were NamouEl, JaMin, JaRib, Zare, Saoul, ²⁵ and Salem, whose son was MabaSam. His son was Masma; his son was ²⁶ AmouEl; his son was SaboUd; his son was ZakChour; and his son was Shimei. ²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and three daughters. And since there were so few daughters, their families didn’t grow as large in Judah as did those of their brothers.

²⁸ The families [of Shimei] lived in BeerSheba, Sama, Molada, EserSouAl, ²⁹ BalaAh, BoAsom, ThoUlad, ³⁰ BathOuEl, Erma, ZikLag, ³¹ BethMariMoth, EmiSouseOsin, and BethBarouseOrim, where they lived until the reign of King David. ³² They also owned AiTan, En, RemMon, ThokKan, and AiSan (five cities), ³³ as well as the land all around these cities all the way to Baal. They owned it all, and it was distributed among the families of ³⁴ MosObab, Amalek, JosiJah, the sons of AmasiJah, ³⁵ JoEl (the son of AsabiJah; the son of SaraJa; the son of AsiEl), ³⁶ EliOnai, JakAba, JasouJah, AsaiJah, JediEl, IsMaEl, BenaiJah, ³⁷ ZoUza (the son of SaphAi; the son of Alon; the son of JediJah; the son of Semri; the son of SamiJah).

³⁸ These were the names of the rulers of their generations and the heads of their families (which grew in great numbers). ³⁹ Their land ran from GeraRa to the east of Gai, because they needed a lot of pasture for all their animals. ⁴⁰ This land had good pasture, and it was large enough for all their animals. It was also a peaceful, restful land… it was where the sons of Ham had lived previously. ⁴¹ But it was during the reign of HezekiJah (the king of Judah) that an edict was passed and they attacked the houses there (as well as the Minaeans who they found there), and they’ve been wiped out until this day. So, [the family of Judah] moved in and claimed the pastures for their animals.

⁴² Also, five hundred of the descendants of Simeon moved there, near Mount Seir. They were led by PhalaEttiJah, NoAdiJah, RaphiJah, and OziEl, who were the sons of Jessie. ⁴³ They killed the rest of the Amalechites who lived there, and they still live in that land to this day.

Chapter 5

¹ These are sons Reuben, the firstborn of Israel:

Although he was the firstborn, because he climbed onto the marriage-bed of his father, [his father] gave the blessing to his son Joseph (the son of Israel), so the rights of the firstborn aren’t traced through [Reuben’s] family line. ² Also, since Judah was the most powerful among his brothers, a leader came from him, while the blessing [of the firstborn] went to Joseph.

³ The sons of Reuben (the firstborn of Israel) were Enoch, PalLu, AsRom, and Charmi. ⁴ The son of JoEl was Shimei, and his son was BenaiJah. Goug was [also] the son of Shimei, ⁵ and his son was Micha, whose son was Recha, whose son was JoEl, ⁶ whose son was Beel. Beel was relocated by Tiglath-Pileser (the king of Assyria), and he’s the leader of the Reubenites.

⁷ These are the genealogies of Beel’s brothers and countrymen who were also resettled [by Tiglath-Pileser]: The first was JoEl, then ZachariJah, ⁸ Balek, his son AzoUz, his son Sama, his son JoEl (who lived in AroEr, Nebo, and BelMasSon). ⁹ This family [was relocated] to the east and lived along the edge of the desert near the EuPhrates River. But back in the land of Gilead, they had owned many cattle. ¹⁰ And during the time of Saul, they were known to attack and kill travelers from their tents that were located to the east of Gilead.

¹¹ The territory of the sons of Gad bordered theirs, which ran from the land of BaShan to Selca. ¹² JoEl was his firstborn, then Sapham and JaNin (who was the scribe in BaShan). ¹³ The seven heads of their family lines were MichaEl, MosolLam, SebeE, JoReE, JoAchan, ZouE, and Heber. ¹⁴ They were the sons of AbiChiJah, who was the son of Ouri, who was the son of JaRoAh, who was the son of Gilead, who was the son of MichaEl, who was the son of JeSai, who was the son of JedDai, who was the son of ZabouCham, ¹⁵ who was the son of AbdiEl, who was the son of GoUni, the head of the house of those family lines. ¹⁶ They lived in the towns all around Gilead in the land of BaShan, and in places all the way to the end of Sharon. ¹⁷ However, they were relocated in the days of JoTham, the king of Judah, and JeroBoam, the king of Israel.

¹⁸ The sons of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of ManasSeh [had taken their land] with their army of trained swordsmen and bowmen… forty-four thousand, seven hundred and sixty men, who were fully prepared for battle. ¹⁹ They went to war with the Hagareans, Itoureans, NaphiSeans, and NadaBeans, ²⁰ and beat them. The Hagareans were all given into their hands, along with their tents, because during the battle they called out to God – putting their hope in Him – and He listened to them. ²¹ So, they captured all their belongings… five thousand camels, two hundred-and-fifty thousand sheep, two thousand burros, and the lives of a hundred thousand men. ²² That many were killed, because God was fighting the war. So, they lived in their land until they were relocated.

²³ The large half-tribe of ManasSeh lived in the land that ran from BaShan, to Baal Hermon, to Senir, to Mount Hermon, and into Lebanon.

²⁴ Here are the heads of their family lines: Opher, Sei, EliEl, JeremiJah, OdouJah, and JediEl. They were all great, mighty, and famous men… the heads of their family lines. ²⁵ However, they annulled their allegiance to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land that God had removed from before them. ²⁶ So, the God of Israel caused the spirit of Pul the king of Assyria (who was also known as Tiglath-Pileser) to become enraged with them, and he sent fifty thousand men and they relocated [the tribes of] Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of ManasSeh. He moved them to Chalak, Mabor, and along the Gozan River, where they still are today.

Chapter 6

¹ The sons of Levi were Gedson, Kohath, and MeraRi.

² Kohath’s sons were Ambram, IsSaAr, Hebron, and OziEl.

³ Ambram’s sons were Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.

Aaron’s sons were Nadab, AbiHu, EliEzer, and IthaMar. ⁴ EliEzer fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered AbiSou, ⁵ AbiSou fathered BokAi; BokAi fathered Ozi; ⁶ Ozi fathered ZariJah; ZariJah fathered MariOth; ⁷ MariOth fathered AmariJah; AmariJah fathered AhiTub; ⁸ AhiTub fathered Zadok; Zadok fathered AchimaAs; ⁹ AchimaAs fathered AzarYan; AzarYan fathered JoAnan; ¹⁰ JoAnan fathered AzariJah (who was the Priest in the Temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem); ¹¹ AzariJah fathered AmariJah; AmariJah fathered AhiTub; ¹² AhiTub fathered Zadok; Zadok fathered SelLum; ¹³ SelLum fathered HelkiJah; HelkiJah fathered AzariJah; ¹⁴ AzariJah fathered SaraiJah; SaraiJah fathered JoSadak; ¹⁵ and JoSadak was carried off when Judah and Jerusalem were relocated to Babylon by NebuChadnezzar.

¹⁶ The sons of Levi were Gedson, Kohath, and MeraRi. ¹⁷ The names of the sons of Gedson were Lobeni and Shimei.

¹⁸ The sons of Kohath were Ambram, IsSaAr, Hebron, and OziEl. ¹⁹ And the sons of MeraRi were MoOli and OmoUsi.

These are the descendants of Levi by their families: ²⁰ Gedson’s son was Lobeni; his son was Jeth; his son was SamMa; his son ²¹ was JoAb; his son was AdDo; his son was Zara; and his son was Jethri. ²² The sons of Kohath were AminAdab; his son Kor; his son Aser; his son ²³ ElKana; his son AbiSaph; his son Aser; his son ²⁴ ThaAth; his son OureEl; and his son OziJa.

²⁵ The sons of ElKana were Amasi, AchimOth, ²⁶ and SoUphi. [SoUphi’s] son was NaAth; his son ²⁷ was EliAb; his son was JereAm; his son was ElKana; and his son was SamuEl.

²⁸ These are the sons of SamuEl: his firstborn was JoEl and his second was AbiJah.

²⁹ The sons of MeraRi were MoOli and Lobeni. His son was Shimei; his son was OziJah; his son ³⁰ was SamaAh; his son was AgGiJah; and his son was AsaiJah

³¹ These are the ones who David put in charge of the chorus that sang at the Temple of Jehovah when the [Sacred] Chest was brought there. ³² They were also the ones who officiated at the Tent of Proofs until Solomon built the Temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem… and they each handled their own assigned duties. ³³ These are the ones who served there, and their [assistants]: From the sons of Kohath there was Heman, who was the lead singer. He was the son of JoEl, who was the son of SamuEl, ³⁴ who was the son of ElKana, who was the son of JerEbam, who was the son of EliEl, who was the son of Thou, ³⁵ who was the son of Souph, who was the son of ElKana, who was the son of MaAth, who was the son of Amathi, ³⁶ who was the son of ElKana, who was the son of JoEl, who was the son of AzariJa, who was the son of SaphAniJah, ³⁷ who was the son of ThaAth, who was the son of Aser, who was the son of AbiAsaph, who was the son of KorAh, ³⁸ who was the son of IsaAr, who was the son of Kohath, who was the son of Levi, who was the son of Israel.

³⁹ His assistant was Asaph (who stood on his right). He was the son of BarachiJah, who was the son of SamaAh, ⁴⁰ the son of MichaEl, the son of BaAsiJah, the son of MelchiJah, ⁴¹ the son of Athani, the son of ZarAi, the son of AdAi, ⁴² the son of Ethan, the son of ZemMa, the son of Shimei, ⁴³ the son of JeEth, the son of Gershon, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴ The assistant of MeraRi (the one who stood on his left) was Ethan, who was the son of Kisa, the son of AbDi, the son of MaOch, ⁴⁵ the son of AsEbi, ⁴⁶ the son of AmasiJah, the son of HelkiJah, the son of AmasiJah, the son of Bani, the son of Semer, ⁴⁷ the son of MoOli, the son of MoUsi, the son of MeraRi, the son of Levi.

⁴⁸ And these were their brothers who were assigned responsibilities over the Tent and the Temple of God by Levite family lines: ⁴⁹ There was Aaron and his sons who offered whole burnt offerings on the Altar and burned incense on the incense Altar, and worked inside the Holy of Holies to atone for [the sins] of Israel, just as God’s servant Moses instructed them.

⁵⁰ These are the sons of Aaron: EliEzer, his son Phinehas, his son AbiSou, his son ⁵¹ BokKi, his son Ozi, his son ZaraiJah, his son ⁵² MariOth, his son AmariJah, his son AhiTub, his son ⁵³ Zadok, and his son AchimaAs.

⁵⁴ These are the places where the sons of Aaron who descended from Kohath lived by towns and borders, which were assigned by a lottery: ⁵⁵ They were given towns in the land of Judah that surrounded Hebron. ⁵⁶ However, the city itself and its fields were given to Caleb (the son of JePhonNe). ⁵⁷ The sons of Aaron were also given the refuge cities of Hebron, Lobna and its outskirts, Selna and its outskirts, EsthaMo and its outskirts, ⁵⁸ JeThar and its outskirts, Dabir and its outskirts, ⁵⁹ Asan and its outskirts, and BasaMus and its outskirts. ⁶⁰ Then in the tribe of Benjamin there was GabaE and its outskirts, GalemEth and its outskirts, and AnathOth and its outskirts. These thirteen cities were assigned to their families.

⁶¹ The rest of the family of KoHath were assigned ten cities in the half-tribe of ManasSeh by lottery, ⁶² and the descendants of Gedson were assigned thirteen cities in the tribes of IsSachar, Asher, NaphTali, and ManasSeh (in BaShan). ⁶³ The descendants of MeraRi were assigned twelve cities (by lottery) in the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ZebuLun. ⁶⁴ In addition, the sons of Israel gave cities along their borders to the rest of the Levites. ⁶⁵ They assigned them by lottery in the tribes of the sons of Judah, Simeon, and BenJamin.

⁶⁶ The descendants of KoHath were given cities and refuge cities along the borders of EphraIm; ⁶⁷ in and around Shechem; in the hills of EphraIm; in and around Gazer; ⁶⁸ in and around JekmaAn; in and around BethOron; ⁶⁹ in and around AiLon; and in and around GethRemmon.

⁷⁰ The half-tribe of ManasSeh gave Anar and its outskirts, and JemblaAn and its outskirts, to the rest of the descendants of KoHath. ⁷¹ They also gave Golan in BaShan and its outskirts, and AstarOth and its outskirts, to the rest of the descendants of Gedson.

⁷² The tribe of IsSachar gave them Kadesh and its outskirts, Dabor and its outskirts, ⁷³ RamOth and its surrounding towns, and AiNan and its outskirts.

⁷⁴ The tribe of Asher gave them MaAsal and it outskirts, AbDon and its outskirts, ⁷⁵ Akak and its outskirts, and RoOb and its outskirts.

⁷⁶ The tribe of NaphTali gave them Kadesh in Galilee and its outskirts, HamOth and its outskirts, and Kiriath JaIrim and its outskirts.

⁷⁷ The tribe of ZebuLun gave the remaining descendants of MeraRi RemMon and its outskirts, and ThalLia and its outskirts.

⁷⁸ On the other side of the Jordan, from Jericho to the east of the Jordan, the tribe of Reuben gave them Bosor (in the desert) and its outskirts, Jasa and its outskirts, ⁷⁹ KadMoth and its outskirts, and MaEphla and its outskirts.

⁸⁰ The tribe of Gad gave them RamOth Gilead and its outskirts, MaAnaim and its outskirts, ⁸¹ Heshbon and its outskirts, and JaZer and its outskirts.

Chapter 7

¹ The four sons of IsSachar were Thola, Phua, JasoUb, and SomBran. ² The sons of Thola were Ozi, RaphiJah, JeriEl, JaMai, JeBasam, and SamuEl, who were each rulers of their houses and family lines. Thola’s descendants were renowned for their greatness and strength through their generations. And during the time of David, their [army] was numbered at twenty-two thousand, six hundred.

³ The five son of Ozi were JezRaiJah, MichaEl, AbdiOu, JoEl, and JesiJah, who were all rulers. ⁴ Each generation, as well as their houses and families, were renowned warriors. For, [they were once] numbered at thirty-six thousand, because they had many wives and sons. ⁵ In fact, there were eighty-seven thousand mighty men listed in the genealogy of their family line.

⁶ The three sons of BenJamin were Bale, Bachir, and JaDiEl. ⁷ Bale’s five sons were AsEbon, Ozi, OziEl, JeriMoth, and Ouri, who were all the rulers of their houses and family lines. They were also mighty warriors, because in their genealogy there are twenty-two thousand and thirty-four listed.

⁸ The sons Bachir were ZemirAh, JoAs, EliEzer, EliOEnai, AmariJah, JeriMoth, AbiJah, AnathOth, and ElMemeth. ⁹ According to their genealogies, these were the rulers of their houses and family lines, among whom twenty thousand two hundred are listed as mighty warriors.

¹⁰ The son of JadiEl was BalaAn, and his sons were JaOus, BenJamin, AOth, ChenaAnah, ZaiThan, Tharsi, and AchiSaAr. ¹¹ All these sons of JadiEl were rulers of their families, and seventeen thousand two hundred are listed as mighty warriors. ¹² They include Saphin, Aphin, and the sons of RaOm… especially his son AEr.

¹³ The sons of NaphTali through BalaA were JasiEl, Goni, IsSaEr, and SalLour.

¹⁴ The sons of ManasSeh were AseriEl (who was born through ManasSeh’s Syrian concubine) and Machir, who was the father of Gilead. ¹⁵ Machir took wives [for Gilead] from among the Amphin and Mamphin, who were sisters. One was named MoOcha, and the second was SalpaAd. Now, SalpaAd only had daughters, ¹⁶ but MoOcha provided Machir [a male heir] named Perez, and another who was named Soros. Then his sons were OuLam and Rokom; ¹⁷ and OuLam had a son named Badan. These were all the descendants of Gilead (the son of Machir and grandson of ManasSeh).

¹⁸ [Gilead] also had sisters. The one named MalechEth gave birth to IsAdek, AbiEzer, and MaEla. ¹⁹ And the sons of Semira were JaAim, Shechem, Lachim, and AniAn.

²⁰ The sons of EphraIm were SothAla, Barad, ThaAth, EliaAda, NomeE, ²¹ Zabed, and SothElE. Then he had two sons named Azer and EliaAd, who were killed by the men of Gath (the natives of the land) because they tried to take their cattle. ²² So, EphraIm (their father) mourned for them a very long time, and their brothers came to comfort him. ²³ Then he [had sex with] his wife and she got pregnant and gave birth to a son he named BarAga (Son of Trouble), because of the bad things that had happened to his house ²⁴ and to those who were left. Then he built Upper and Lower BethOron, Ozan, and SeEra.

²⁵ [Thereafter, he had a son] named Raphe, who had sons named Saraph and ThaleEs. ThaleEs had a son named ThaEn, who had a son ²⁶ named Ladan. His son was AmiOud; his son was EliSamAi; his son ²⁷ was NoUm; and his son was JesOue. ²⁸ They lived in and owned BethEl and its surrounding villages, the villages east of NoAran and to the west of Gazer, as well as Shechem and its villages, and all the villages up to Mount An.

²⁹ The borders of the sons of ManasSeh included BethSaAn and its villages, ThaAnak and its villages, Megiddo and its villages, and Dor and its villages. These are the places where the descendants of Joseph through ManasSeh lived.

³⁰ The sons of Asher were JemNa, SouYa, IsoWi, and BeriJah… and Sore was their sister.

³¹ The sons of BeriJah were Chaber and MelchiEl, who was the father of BerZaith. ³² Chaber was the father of Japhlet, Samer, Chotham, and their sister Sola. ³³ Japhlet’s sons were Phasek, BamaEl, and Asith.

³⁴ Samer’s sons were Achir, Rouga, Oba, and Aram.

³⁵ The sons of his brother ([who was also known as] Bane Elam) were Sopha, Yamna, SelLes, and Amal. ³⁶ The sons of Sopha were SoWeh, ArnaPhar, Souda, Barin, Imran, ³⁷ Basar, JeOud, SemMa, Salisa, Jethran, and BeEra. ³⁸ The sons of Jethran were Jephina, Phaspha, and Ara. ³⁹ The sons of Oba were Orek, AniEl, and RasJa. ⁴⁰ These were all descendants of Asher, and they were each rulers of their family lines. They were the best of their kind; strong, mighty men who were leaders and rulers, and whose line of descent can be traced through war records… all twenty-six thousand of them.

Chapter 8

¹ BenJamin fathered Baleh (his firstborn), then AsBel (his second), Ara (his third), ² Noa (his fourth), and Rapheh (his fifth). ³ The sons of Baleh were Adir, Gera, AbiHud, ⁴ AbiShua, NoAma, AchiJah, ⁵ Gera, SephoUfam, and OuRam.

⁶ These are the sons of Ehud, who were the family heads that lived in GabeE, but were relocated to ManaHath: ⁷ NaAman, AchiA, Gera, JeglaAm (who fathered Aza and AhiHud), ⁸ and SaArin, who fathered children in the plains of Moab after he sent his wives Osin and BaAda away. ⁹ Through his wife Ada he fathered JoBab, SebJa, Misa, MelCham, ¹⁰ JoAs, SekiJah, and Marma. These were his sons and the heads of their families. ¹¹ But through Osin he fathered AbiTol and AlphaAl.

¹² AlphaAl’s sons were Obed, MisaAl, SemMer (who built Ono, Lod, and their surrounding villages), ¹³ BeriJah, and Sama. These were the family heads of the people who lived in AiLam and who drove out the people who lived in Gath. ¹⁴ They were related to Sosel, JeriMoth, ¹⁵ ZabadJa, Ored, Eder, ¹⁶ MichaEl, JesPha, and Joda (who were the sons of BeriJah), ¹⁷ and to ZabadJa, MosoLam, Azaki, Abar, ¹⁸ IsAlmari, JezliAs, and JoBab (the sons of ElPhaAl), ¹⁹ and to JaKim, Zachri, Zabdi, ²⁰ EliOnai, Salathi, EliEl, ²¹ AdaiJah, BaraiJah, and SamarAth (who were the sons of Shimei), ²² and to JesPhan, Obed, EleEl, ²³ AbDon, Zechri, Anan, ²⁴ AnaniJah, Ambri, AiLam, AnathOth, ²⁵ JephadiJah, and PhanouEl (who were the sons of Sosek), ²⁶ and to SamSari, SaAriJah, GotholiJa, ²⁷ JarasiJah, EriJah, and Zechri (who were the sons of JeroHam).

²⁸ These are the heads of their families and their generations… the chiefs who lived in Jerusalem.

²⁹ The wife of JeEl, the founder of [the city of] Gibeon, was MaAcha. ³⁰ His firstborn son was AbaDon, then SoUr, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³¹ Gedour, ZakChour, ³² and MakelOth (who was the father of SamaiJah). They all lived near their families in Jerusalem.

³³ Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered JoNathan, MelchiShua, AminAdab, and AsaBal.

³⁴ JoNathan’s son was MeriBaal, MeriBaal’s son was Michah, ³⁵ and Michah’s sons were Phithon, MelAk, TharAk, and Ahaz. ³⁶ Ahaz fathered Jada, and Jada fathered SalaiMath, AsMoth, and Zambri. Zambri fathered MaiSa, ³⁷ and MaiSa fathered BaAna and RaphaiJah. His son was ElAsa, and his son was EsEl. ³⁸ EsEl had six sons: EzriKam (his firstborn), IsMaEl, SaraiJah, AbdiA, Anan, and Asa… these were all the sons of EsEl.

³⁹ And the sons of EsEl’s brother EshEck were Ulam (his firstborn), Jas (his second), and EliPhalet (his third). ⁴⁰ These were the strong and mighty bowmen of AiLam who produced a hundred and fifty sons. And these were all the sons of BenJamin.

Chapter 9

¹ Israel can trace its genealogy, because {Look!} it’s all written in the scroll of the kings of Israel. However, [the people of] Judah were among those who were resettled in Babylon, because they sinned by breaking their Sacred Agreement [with God]. ² But in the land that they owned prior to that (in the cities of Israel), there were the Priests and Levites… and they were in charge of everything.

³ Now, in Jerusalem there were some Judeans, some sons of BenJamin, and some of the descendants of EphraIm and ManasSeh. ⁴ There was also UthAi, the son of SamMiHud, the son of Omri, the son of Buni, the son of Perez, the son of Judah. ⁵ Shiloh and his firstborn son AsaiJah and his family were also in Jerusalem, ⁶ as was JeEl (the son of Zara) and six hundred and ninety of that family line.

⁷ Among the descendants of BenJamin there was Salo, who was the son of MosolLam, the son of HodaviJah, the son of SanaAn and ⁸ Jebna, who was the son of JeroBoam and Elo.

There were also the sons of Ozi (who was the son of Machir and MosolLam, the son of SaphatJa, the son of RagouEl, the son of JemNai) ⁹ and several generations of their relatives, numbering nine hundred and fifty-six in all. All the men were the heads of their family lines and houses.

¹⁰ Then there were the Priests, JehoiAda, JoArim, JaChin, ¹¹ and AzariJah (who was the son of HelkiJah, the son of MossolLam, the son of Zadok, the son of MaraiOth, the son of AhiTub), who was the leader in the Temple of God.

¹² Then there was AdaJa (the son of JeroAm, the son of Phaschor, the son of MelchiJah and MaAsaJa, who was the son AdiEl, the son of EziRa, the son of MosolLam, the son of MaselMoth, the son of EmMer) ¹³ and their families. There were a thousand, seven hundred-and-sixty strong and mighty men who were the heads of their family lines and houses, who worked at and oversaw everything in the Temple of God.

¹⁴ Among the Levites there was SamaiJah (the son of Asob, the son of EzriKam, the son of AsabiJah) from the family line of MeraRi. ¹⁵ And there was BakBakar, Ares, GalaAl, MatthaniJah, the sons of Micha, the son of Zechri, the son of Asaph ¹⁶ and ObadiJah (the sons of SamiJah), the son of GalaAl, the son of IdiThoun and BarachiJah, the sons of Ossa, and the son of ElKana), who lived in the courtyards of the NetopPhathites.

¹⁷ Then there were the gatekeepers: Salom, AkoUm, Telmon, and AiMan, and their families. Salom was in charge ¹⁸ of everything to the eastern King’s Gate. The gatekeepers for the camps of the sons of Levi were ¹⁹ Salom (the son of KorAh, the son of AbiAsaph, the son of Sore) and his brothers of the paternal houses of the Korites. They were in charge of the work and administration of the watches for guarding the Sacred Tent. For, their ancestors were once in charge of the entire camp of Jehovah, and served as guards to its entrances. ²⁰ Back then, PhineHas (the son of EliEzer) stood as their leader before Jehovah, ²¹ and ZachariJah (the son of MasaLami) was in charge of guarding the entrance to the Tent of Proofs. ²² Altogether, those who were chosen as gatekeepers to stand at the entrances were numbered at two hundred and twelve. The records of their genealogies and properties were all counted and established by the trusted offices of David and the Seer SamuEl.

²³ Now, it was their sons who were in charge of the doors and who kept watch at the Temple of Jehovah and the house of the Tent. ²⁴ These gatekeepers were stationed as the four winds… in the east, west, north, and south. ²⁵ And their brothers had to leave their homes in shifts every seven weeks and spend seven days there.

²⁶ There were four mighty men who were in charge of the gatekeepers. They were Levites, and they were over everything, including the treasury of the Temple of God. For this reason, they lived close to the Temple. ²⁷ Their watch responsibility was to use the keys both morning and evening to unlock and lock the Temple doors. ²⁸ They were also responsible for the things that were used in the services. They had to count everything when it was taken out and when it was returned. ²⁹ Also, some of them were over the equipment and holy things, such as the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, and the aromatics. ³⁰ For, some of the Priests’ sons were perfumers [who mixed] the fragrant [oils and incense].

³¹ The Levite MatTathiJah was the firstborn of Salom the Korite. He was entrusted with the work that has to do with the sacrifices of the pan of the High Priest. ³² BenaiJah the KoHathite was selected from among his brothers to be in charge of the loaves of showbread, which had to be prepared for each Sabbath.

³³ When it came to the singers, the heads of the Levite families were in charge at the central place of worship. They worked on a daily rotation basis, all day and all-night long, to get everything done. ³⁴ So though the generations, the heads of the families of Levites lived in Jerusalem.

³⁵ Now, the founder of Gibeon (JeEl) lived in the town of Gibeon. His wife’s name was MaAcha. ³⁶ His firstborn son was AbaDon, then SoUr, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ GedoUr, and his brothers, ZakChour and MakelOth. ³⁸ MakelOth fathered SamaAh, and he and his family lived together in Jerusalem. ³⁹ And Ner fathered Kish, then Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered JoNathan, MelchiShua, AminAdab, and AsBal.

⁴⁰ The son of JoNathan was MeriBaal, and MeriBaal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah were PhiThon, MelchiEl, Tharach, ⁴² and Ahaz, who fathered JaDa. JaDa then fathered GalEmeth, AzMoth, and Zambri. Zambri fathered Masa, ⁴³ and Masa fathered BaAna and RaphaIh, whose son was ElAsa, and his son was EsEl. ⁴⁴ EsEl had six sons, EzriKam (his firstborn), then IshMaEl, SaraiJah, AbdJah, Anan, and Asa. These were the sons of EsEl.

Chapter 10

¹ Well, the Philistines were fighting a war against Israel, and the army of Israel was being defeated, so they turned and ran from the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. ² Then the Philistines started chasing Saul and his sons, and they caught and killed Saul’s sons JoNathan, AminAdab, and MelchiShua. ³ And thereafter they pressed on in the battle to reach Saul. Well, their archers found him and shot him, leaving him in great pain. ⁴ So, Saul said to the aid that was carrying his weapons, ‘Unsheathe your broadsword and stab me with it, so these uncircumcised don’t come here and make sport of me!’

But his aid didn’t want to do that, because he was afraid. So, Saul took his sword and fell on it. ⁵ And when the man who was carrying his weapons saw that Saul had killed himself, he too fell upon his sword and died. ⁶ So, Saul and his three sons all died that day, and that was the end of his house. ⁷ And when the men of Israel who had run into the valley heard that Saul and his sons had been killed, they all just fled back to their homes. So, the Philistines then came and lived among them.

⁸ Well, the day after the battle, when the Philistines came to loot the bodies, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So, they stripped his body and carried his head and weapons with them, back into the land of the Philistines, where it was joyously paraded before the temples of their idols and their people. ¹⁰ Then they put his weapons in the temple of their god, and carried his head and put it into the temple of Dagon.

¹¹ Well, when the men of JabIsh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul and his sons, and to Israel, ¹² all their great warriors went and took the body of Saul and his sons, and brought them back to JabIsh. Then they took their bones and placed them in a tomb that was located under an oak tree in JabIsh, and they fasted for seven days.

¹³ So, Saul was killed because of the lawless ways in which he had acted against his God. He had gone against the instructions of Jehovah and he didn’t do what he was told. For, Saul had gone to a fortuneteller to speak to the Prophet SamuEl. ¹⁴ And because he didn’t ask Jehovah, he was killed and his kingdom was handed over to David, the son of Jesse.

Chapter 11

¹ Then all the men of [the army of] Israel came to David in Hebron and said, ‘Look! We’re your flesh and bones. ² And while Saul used to be our king, you were the one who led the armies of Israel, and your God Jehovah said to you, You will take care of My people Israel and you will be their leader.’

³ Then all the elders of Israel came to him in Hebron and made an agreement with King David before Jehovah, and they anointed him to be the king over Israel, just as Jehovah had said through the Prophet SamuEl. ⁴ Thereafter, King David and [the whole army of] Israel went to Jerusalem (which was then called Jebus). And the Jebusites who lived there said to David, ⁵ ‘You won’t come in here.’ But he was the first to capture the citadel on Zion, so it became known as ‘the city of David.’

⁶ Now, David had said: ‘Whoever is the first to beat the Jebusites will become my commander-in-chief and the general [over my army].’ And the first one to do this was JoAb (the son of ZeruJah), and he was appointed the commander-in-chief.

⁷ Thereafter, David stayed in the citadel, and he started calling it his city. ⁸ For, he had built a siege-wall around the entire city and captured it. ⁹ And from that point on, David kept becoming greater and more famous, for Jehovah the Almighty was with him.

¹⁰ These are the leaders and the mighty ones who were with David and who became great along with him when he ruled over all Israel, because they were the ones who made him king over Israel, just as Jehovah had said:

¹¹ Counted among the mighty ones of David was JeseBaal (the son of AchaMani), who was the first of the thirty. This is because there was a time when he used his broadsword to kill three hundred men all by himself. ¹² And with him was EliEzer (the son of DodAi the AchoChite). He was one [of David’s] three greatest men. ¹³ For, he was with David at PhasoDomin when the Philistines had gathered for war in a field full of barley. And when [the army] turned and ran from the Philistines, ¹⁴ he stood there alone in the middle of the field and saved them by killing [all of] the Philistines. For, Jehovah had used him to bring a great victory.

¹⁵ He was also one of the three (from among the thirty generals) who went to David when he was at The Rock at the Cave of OdolLam, right in the midst of the camp of the Philistines, there in the valley of the giants. ¹⁶ And when David was in the citadel and all the Philistines were in BethLehem, ¹⁷ and David asked, ‘Who will bring me a drink of water from the well at the entrance to BethLehem?’ ¹⁸ it was these three who attacked the Philistines, drew water from the well at the entrance to BethLehem, and brought it to David. But then David refused to drink it. Rather, he offered it to Jehovah and said, ¹⁹ ‘It was because of Your kindness to me, O God, that they have done this thing. So, shall I now drink the blood of these men… something for which [they risked] their lives? Why, they risked their lives to bring it to me, so I don’t want to drink it.’

Yes, it was these three mighty men who did these things.

²⁰ There was also AbiShai, the brother of JoAb. He was one of those three generals. He unsheathed his broadsword and killed three hundred men all by himself. In fact, he was the most famous of the three… ²¹ he was the most honored, and he was the leader of the three.

²² And there was the mighty man BenaiJah (the son of JehoiAda). There were so many things that he accomplished at KabasaEl. For, it was he who killed the two lion-like soldiers of Moab, and it was he who went down into a pit and killed the lion on the snowy day. ²³ It was he who also killed the remarkable Egyptian man who stood more than seven-feet tall and carried a spear that was as large as a weaving loom. BenaiJah went and grabbed the spear from the Egyptian’s hands and killed him with it. ²⁴ These are the types of things that BenaiJah (the son of JehoiAda) did. So, his name is listed along with the three mighty ones, ²⁵ for he was considered the greatest among the thirty, but he wasn’t considered one of the three [generals], because David had put him in charge of his family.

²⁶ Also among the powerful mighty ones were AsahEl (JoAb’s other brother), EliAnan (the son of DoDoe) the BethLehemite, ²⁷ SamMoth the Arorite, Helles the Phelonite, ²⁸ Ora (the son of EkKis) the Thekoite, AbiEzer the AnathOthite, ²⁹ SoboChai the Asothite, Eli the Achonite, ³⁰ MoorAi the Netophathite, Cholod (the son of NoOza) the Netophathite, ³¹ AiRi (the son of Rebie) from the hills of BenJamin, BenaiJah the Pharathonite, ³² Ouri from Nachali-GaAs, AbiEl the Arabethite, ³³ Azbon the Baromite, EliAba the Salobonite, ³⁴ BenAsam the Gizonite, JoNathan (the son of Sola) the Ararite, ³⁵ Achim (the son of Achar) the Ararite, ElPhat (the son of ThuroPhar) ³⁶ the Mechorathite, AhiJah the Phellonite, ³⁷ EseRe the Charmadite, NaArai (the son of AzobAi), ³⁸ JoEl (Nathan’s brother), MeBaal (the son of Agari), ³⁹ SelLek the Ammonite, Nachor the BerOthite (who carried the weapons for JoAb, the son of ZeruJah), ⁴⁰ Ira the Jethrite, Gareb the Jethrite, ⁴¹ UriJah the Hittite, Sabet (the son of AchaJa), ⁴² and Adina ⁴³ (the son of SaIza) the head of the Reubenites. And with the thirty were ⁴³ Anan (the son of MoOcha), JoSaphat the Mathnite, ⁴⁴ OziJa the AstarOthite, SamMa and JeiEl (the sons of Hotham) the Ararites, ⁴⁵ JediEl (the son of Sameri), JoZae and his brother (the ThosSaites), ⁴⁶ EliEl the Maoite, JaRibi, JosiJa and his son ElLam, JethAma the Moabite, ⁴⁷ DaliEl, Obed, and JessiEl the Mesobite.

Chapter 12

¹ These are the men who came to David at ZikLag as part of his band, to [protect him from] Saul (the son of Kish). They are among the mighty ones who helped in his battles… ² bowmen who could shoot with both their right and left hands. And they slung rocks and shot with their bows at the followers of the BenJamite Saul. ³ There was AhiEzer (their leader), JoAsh (the son of Asma) the Gabathite, JoEl and JoPhalet (the sons of AsMoth), BarachiJah, Jehu the AnathOthite, ⁴ and SamaYas the Gibeonite… they were the mightiest among the thirty, and they were their leaders.

Then there was JeremiJah, JeziEl, JoAnan, JoZabath the Gederathite, ⁵ EliOzi, JarImoUth, BaalJah, SamariAi, SaphatiJah the Haruphite, ⁶ ElKana, JesiJah, OzriEl, JoZara, SoboKam, and the Korites ⁷ JoEla and ZabadJa (the sons of JeroHam), and the sons of Gedor.

⁸ These men came to David from the tribe of Gad when he was in the desert. They were strong mighty men who all stood in battle lines dressed for war carrying shields and spears with faces like lions. They also moved as quickly as light does on the mountains. ⁹ There was Azer (who was their leader), AbDiAh (who was second in command), EliAb (the third), ¹⁰ MasMana (the fourth), JeremiJah (the fifth), ¹¹ Jethi (the sixth), EliAb (the seventh), ¹² JoAnan (the eighth), EliAzer (the ninth), ¹³ JeremiJah (the tenth), and MachaBanai (the eleventh). ¹⁴ These were all from the tribe of Gad, and they were all generals over the army… some over hundreds and one over a thousand. ¹⁵ They all crossed the Jordan during the first month when it was at its highest level and drove away all the people who lived in the valleys from the east to the west.

¹⁶ Some also came from the tribes of BenJamin and Judah to help David. ¹⁷ And when David came to meet them, he said to them: ‘If you’ve come to me in peace, may we share the same heart. But if you’ve come to hand me over to my enemies, may the God of your fathers discipline you.’

¹⁸ Well, [God’s] Breath came over AmasAi (the leader of the thirty), and he said, ‘Go on, O David, you son of Jesse… you and all your people! Peace! Peace to you and peace to your helpers, for your God is also helping you.’

So, David welcomed them and appointed them as generals in his army.

¹⁹ Men from the tribe of ManasSeh had also joined with David when the Philistines attacked Saul. But David didn’t join with the Philistines, because the Philistine generals said, ‘He’ll just return to his lord Saul.’ ²⁰ So, they sent him away, and David returned to ZikLag… and that’s when some from the tribe of ManasSeh joined him. There was EdNah, JoZabath, RodiEl, MichaEl, JosaBeth, Eliu, and Selathi, generals over thousands from ManasSeh. ²¹ They and their troops fought alongside David, and they were all strong, mighty men and leaders of their armies. ²² They came and fought for David each day like a great force from God.

²³ And these are the names of the military generals who came to David in Hebron to fight Saul for his kingdom (according to the words of Jehovah). ²⁴ From the tribe of Judah there were six thousand eight hundred men, all bearing shields and spears, and ready for battle. ²⁵ From the tribe of Simeon there were seven thousand one hundred mighty men, who were ready for battle. ²⁶ From the tribe of Levi there were four thousand six hundred. ²⁷ And when JehoiAda (the head of the family line of Aaron) came to meet with him, he brought along three thousand seven hundred men.

²⁸ Then there was Zadok, who was a strong and mighty young man. He brought along twenty-two leaders from his father's household.

²⁹ And from the tribe of BenJamin (Saul’s tribe) there were three thousand men; yet most of them were guards in the house of Saul.

³⁰ And from the tribe of EphraIm there were twenty thousand eight hundred strong, mighty, and famous men in their houses and family lines.

³¹ And from the half-tribe of ManasSeh there were eighteen thousand, all of whom had sworn to make David the king.

³² And from the tribe of IsSachar came two hundred men with their [armies], who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.

³³ And from [the tribe of] ZebuLon came fifty thousand men all dressed for war and carrying their weapons to help David, but not with their whole hearts.

³⁴ And from [the tribe of] NaphTali came a thousand leaders with thirty-seven thousand men carrying shields and spears.

³⁵ And from [the tribe of] Dan came twenty-eight thousand eight hundred men all ready for war.

³⁶ And from [the tribe of] Asher came forty thousand six hundred to help in the war.

³⁷ And from the other side of the Jordan (from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of ManasSeh) came a hundred-and-twenty thousand, all carrying their weapons of war.

³⁸ All these men were warriors that were dressed and ready for battle, but peaceful in heart. They came to Hebron to make David the king over all Israel. And all the rest of Israel was of the same heart when it came to making David their king. ³⁹ Then they all stayed with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers were providing for them. ⁴⁰ Those of IsSachar, ZebuLun, and NaphTali who lived nearby, loaded up their camels, burros, mules, and oxen and brought them huge quantities of food… flour, dried figs, raisins, wine, olive oil, veal, and lamb, because everyone in Israel was very happy.

Chapter 13

¹ First David met with his generals, lieutenants, and all the leaders. ² Then he went before the entire gathering of Israel and said, ‘If you approve, and if our God Jehovah blesses the effort, we should send [a letter] to all our brothers who are left throughout the land of Israel, and to the Priests and Levites in their cities, and invite them all to gather with us. ³ Then we will bring the [Sacred] Chest of our God to us here, for no one has gone before it since the days of Saul.’

⁴ Well, the entire congregation agreed to do this, because it seemed to be right in the eyes of the people. ⁵ So, David called all Israel together from the borders of Egypt to the land of Hamath, and David had the Chest of God transported out of the city of JaRim. ⁶ For, all Israel had traveled up to the city of David, which was in Judah, to lead [a procession before] the Chest of Jehovah God (the one with the cherubs sitting on top) that is used to call upon His Name.

⁷ Then they placed the Chest of God on a new wagon and carried it from the house of AminAdab. And Oza and his brothers walked ahead of the wagon, ⁸ as David and all Israel sang and danced before God with all their strength. There were singers, stringed instruments, woodwinds, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. ⁹ But as they were carrying [the Chest] onto a threshing floor, Oza stuck out his hand to steady the Chest (because one of the oxen [pulling the wagon] had bolted), ¹⁰ and Jehovah became enraged with what Oza had done, so He struck him down, because he had touched the Chest; and he died there before God.

¹¹ Well, David was so upset that Jehovah had cut Oza down, that he named that place ‘The Severance of Oza’, which is what it is still called today.

¹² And from that day on, David became afraid of God, for he asked, ‘Then how can I carry the Chest of God to me?’ ¹³ So, David didn’t go back to carry the Chest of God to himself into the city of David. Rather, he left it in the house of ObedEdom the Gittite, ¹⁴ where it remained for three months. And during this time, God blessed ObedEdom and his entire household.

Chapter 14

¹ Then Hiram (the king of Tyre) sent emissaries to David, along with cedar wood, tradesmen, and carpenters, to build a palace for him.

² Now, David knew that Jehovah had prepared him to be the king over Israel, and that He would make his kingdom become more important because of His people Israel. ³ And after David moved to Jerusalem, he started taking more wives, and he had many more sons and daughters. ⁴ These are their names: Those who were born in Jerusalem were SamaAh, Sobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ IbaAr, EliSae, EliPalet, ⁶ NaGeth, NaPhag, JaPhie, ⁷ EliShama, BaalJada, and EliPhalet.

⁸ But when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, their [entire army] came looking for him, and David went out to meet them. ⁹ So, the Philistines assembled for battle in the Valley of the Giants. ¹⁰ But first David went before God and asked, ‘Should I go and fight the Philistines, and will You give them into my hands?’ And Jehovah replied, ‘Go, and I will give them into your hands!’ ¹¹ So, he marched to Baal PharAsin and attacked them there.

And thereafter, David said, ‘God used my hand to cut through my enemies like cutting through water.’ And that’s why he named that place ‘The Severance of PharAsin.’

¹² Well, the Philistines just ran away and left [the images] of their gods lying there, so David [told his men to] burn them in a fire. ¹³ Then he marched after the Philistines again and found them in the Valley of the Giants. ¹⁴ So, David asked God what he should do. But [this time] God replied, ‘Don’t go after them! Turn away and wait for them near the pear trees. ¹⁵ And when you hear the sound of rumbling from the tops of the pear trees, attack them, for [that’s the sound of] God going ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines.’

¹⁶ So, David did exactly as God had told him. Then he kept attacking the Philistine camps from Gibeon to GeZer, ¹⁷ and the name of David became known throughout the land, for Jehovah had put the fear of him upon all the nations.

Chapter 15

¹ Thereafter, he did quite a bit of building in the city of David. He prepared a place for the Chest of God, and he had a Tent built for it. ² Then David said, ‘No one is to handle the Chest of God other than the Levites, because Jehovah has chosen them for that purpose… to carry it and to officiate before Him through the ages.

³ Then David gathered all Israel in Jerusalem to carry the Chest of Jehovah and put it into the place that he had built for it.

⁴ He also collected [groups] of the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. ⁵ OuriEl was the leader from the line of KoHath, and there were a hundred and twenty with him. ⁶ AsaiJa was the leader from the line of MeraRi, and there were two hundred and twenty with him. ⁷ JoEl was the leader of the line of Gershon, and there were a hundred and thirty with him. ⁸ Shemei was the leader of the line of EliSaphan, and there were two hundred with him. ⁹ EliEl was the leader of the line of Hebron, and there were eighty with him. ¹⁰ And AminAdab was the leader of the line of OziEl, and there were a hundred and twelve with him.

¹¹ David then called the priests Zadok and AbiAthar, and the Levites, OuriEl, AsaiAn, JoEl, SamaYan, EliEl, and AminAdab, ¹² and said to them, ‘You are the heads of the families of the Levites. Now purify yourselves and your brothers, so you can carry the Chest of the God of Israel to the place that I’ve prepared for it. ¹³ Because, the first time you tried to do this you weren’t ready, so God came among us and cut through us, because we didn’t ask Him what we should do.’

¹⁴ So, the Priests and the Levites purified themselves to carry the Chest of the God of Israel. ¹⁵ Then they went to carry it exactly as God had instructed them through Moses, and in the way that he wrote it should be done, using the staves to bear it.

¹⁶ Then David told the heads of the Levites: ‘Now, assign singers and musicians who play stringed instruments, woodwinds, and cymbals from among your brothers, to make loud and happy music.’

¹⁷ So, the Levites appointed Heman (the son of JoEl) from among his family, and Asaph (the son BarachiJah) from the line of MeraRi, and his [friend] Ethan (the son of KishaiJah). ¹⁸ Then they met with them and they appointed others who would be under them… ZachariJah, OziEl, SemiRamOth, JeiEl, EliOhel, EliAb, BenaiJah, MaAseJah, MatTathiJah, EliPhaliJah, MakeniJah, and ObedEdom. And they appointed JeiEl and OziAs to be in charge [of the Sacred Chest].

¹⁹ Then they appointed Heman, Asaph, and Ethan to be in charge of the singers. And in charge of the brass cymbals (to make sure that the music was loud) were ²⁰ ZachariJah, OziEl, SemiRamOth, JeiEl, Oni, EliAb, MasaiJah, and BenaiJah. The heads of the stringed instruments and the many types of woodwinds (so the music would be loud enough) were AlamOth, ²¹ MatTathiJah, EliPhaliJah, MakeniJah, ObedEdom, JeiEl, and OziJah. ²² And ChoneniJah (the head of the Levites) was put in charge of all the music, because he could orchestrate everything.

²³ Then BarachiJah and ElKana were assigned to [carry] the [front end of the Sacred] Chest – as ²⁴ SobniAh, JoSaphat, NathaniEl, AmasiJah, ZachariJah, BaniJah, and EliEzer (the Priests) were assigned to blow the trumpets ahead of it – and ObedEdom and JeiJah were [to carry] it [from behind].

²⁵ Of course, David, the governors of Israel, and his generals were to lead the joyful parade when they carried the Chest of God’s Sacred Agreement out of the house of ObedEdom. ²⁶ And to be sure that God would empower them to carry the Chest of Jehovah, the [Priests] first sacrificed seven calves and seven rams.

²⁷ Then David came dressed in fine linen, along with the Levites who would bear the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah, the singers, and ChoneniJah (the head of the musicians). Then they wrapped David in a fine linen cape, ²⁸ and all Israel walked ahead of the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah, cheering, blowing ram’s horns and trumpets, loudly beating on cymbals, and playing stringed instruments and lutes.

²⁹ Then, when the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah reached the city of David, Michal (the daughter of Saul) leaned over and looked from her window, and when she saw King David dancing and acting like a child, she inwardly felt contempt for him.

Chapter 16

¹ So, they carried the Chest of God, and placed it in the middle of the tent that David had made for it. Then they offered whole burnt offerings and a salvation offering before God. ² And when David completed these offerings, he blest the people in the name of Jehovah. ³ Then he gave every man and woman of Israel a freshly-baked loaf of bread and some honey bread.

⁴ Then he stood before the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah and ordered the Levites to shout aloud and acknowledge and praise Jehovah, the God of Israel. ⁵ And Asaph, the orchestra conductor, and those under him (ZachariJah, JeiEl, SemiRamOth, MatTathiJah, EliAb, BenaiJah, ObedEdom, and JeiEl) conducted the stringed instruments and woodwinds, while Asaph had them beat on the cymbals, ⁶ and BenaiJah and OziEl (the Priests) blew the trumpets continuously before the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of God.

⁷ So, that was the day when David arranged for Asaph and his brothers to start praising Jehovah. ⁸ [For they shouted]:
‘Acknowledge Jehovah!
Call upon Him by His Name!
Tell the people of the things He has done!
⁹ Sing praises to him!

‘Describe all the wonders the Lord has performed;
¹⁰ Give praise to His Holy Name!
Make your hearts glad… seek His favor;
¹¹ Seek Jehovah and be strong!

‘Always search for His face!
¹² Remember the wonderful things He has done…
His miracles and the decisions that have come from His mouth,
¹³ O seed of Israel… His servants… you sons of Jacob… His elected.

¹⁴ ‘He is Jehovah our God! His judgments have filled the whole earth!
¹⁵ Remember His Sacred Agreement through the ages,
¹⁶ And the words that He instructed thousands of generations to follow,
Which He spoke to Abraham, and the oath that He gave to Isaac.

¹⁷ ‘Then He established His Sacred Agreement with Jacob through the ages,
And He gave His orders to Israel, ¹⁸ saying,
I will give the land of CanaAn as a piece of measured land to be your inheritance.
¹⁹ Yet at the time, there weren’t many of them, and [the nation] was dwindling.

‘But first they had to walk around;
²⁰ And they passed from nation to nation and past the kingdoms of foreigners.
²¹ But He didn’t allow anyone to overpower them, and He disciplined their kings saying,
²² You may not touch My anointed, or act wickedly among My Prophets!

²³ ‘May the whole earth sing to Jehovah!
Shout each day about the way that He saves!
²⁴ Tell all the nations of His glory,
And all their people of His wonders!

²⁵ ‘For, Jehovah is great and worthy of praise!
He is more to be feared that all other gods,
²⁶ For the gods of the nations are just idols,
But Jehovah made the heavens!

²⁷ ‘Stand before His face and praise His strength!
Brag about His Holy Place!
²⁸ Give praise to Jehovah, all you families of the nations;
Praise Jehovah’s glory and strength!

²⁹ ‘Glorify the Name of the Lord!
Bring gifts… carry them before His face,
Then bow low before Jehovah
In His courtyard so holy!

³⁰ ‘Before His face be afraid, all you on the earth!
May the ground become firm before Him and may it not be shaken!
³¹ You heavens be glad and earth cry in joy!
May all the nations admit that Jehovah is their king!

³² ‘And may all seas, and the sun, and the trees in the fields,
And all else resonate before Him.
³³ Why, even the forests of trees in the fields
Will be glad before the face of Jehovah,
For He is coming to judge the earth!

³⁴ ‘Acknowledge that Jehovah is good,
For His mercy lasts through the ages.
Save us, O God; deliver us!
³⁵ Gather and rescue us from the nations!

‘Praise His Holy Name… boast of the blessings that He brings!
³⁶ Praise Jehovah Israel’s God
Through the ages and [beyond].’

Then all the people shouted, ‘Amen!’ And they started praising Jehovah.

³⁷ So they left the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah there, and Asaph and his brothers served before the Chest continually, each day, ³⁸ along with ObedEdom and his family; for ObedEdom (the son of IdiThoum) and Osa were the gatekeepers.

³⁹ However, Zadok the Priest and his fellow Priests stayed before the Tent of Jehovah, which was located in Bala of Gibeon. ⁴⁰ And there they offered whole burnt offerings on the Altar to Jehovah continually, morning and evening, just as it was written in the Law of Jehovah, as it was given to the sons of Israel by the hand of Moses, God’s servant.

⁴¹ Those who were with [the Priests] were Heman, IdiThoum, and all the rest who were chosen by name to praise Jehovah for His mercy through the ages. ⁴² There were also the trumpeters, the cymbal players, and all the rest of the musicians, who could play their instruments loudly in the songs [of praise] to God.

Then the sons of IdiThoum took their positions at the gates, all the people returned to their homes, ⁴³ and David went back home to bless his family.

Chapter 17

¹ Then one day, when David was in his palace, he said to the Prophet Nathan, ‘Look; here I am living in a palace of cedars, while the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah is sitting under a tent of leather skins.’

² And Nathan said to David, ‘Then do whatever is in your heart, because God is with you!’

³ But that night, the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ ‘Go and tell My servant David that this is what Jehovah has said: You may not build a house for Me to stay in, ⁵ because I haven’t stayed in a house from the day that I started leading Israel until now. I’ve stayed in a tent protected by the covering. ⁶ In all the places that I’ve gone with Israel, did I ever ask any tribe of Israel or those who I put in charge of taking care of My people why they didn’t build Me a house of cedar?

⁷ ‘So, tell My servant David, that this is what Jehovah the Almighty had decreed: I’ve taken you out of the pastures where you followed the flocks, to lead My people Israel, ⁸ and I was with you wherever you went. I destroyed all your enemies from before you, and I’ve made your name one of the greatest on the earth.

⁹ ‘I’ve also made a place for My people Israel, and I’ve planted them there. And when they camp alone, they won’t have to be afraid anymore, for no unrighteous person will humble them as has happened in the past. ¹⁰ Why, from the days when I arranged for the Judges [to lead] My people Israel, I’ve humbled all their enemies so My [nation] would grow.

‘So now, a house will be built for Jehovah, ¹¹ but that will happen after you’ve lived a full life and you go to sleep with your ancestors. Then I will raise a seed after you who will come from your belly, and I will prepare his kingdom. ¹² He will build a house for Me, and I shall make his throne last through the ages. ¹³ I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me. And My mercy will never be removed from him, as I have removed it from those who preceded you. ¹⁴ I will entrust My House to him and his kingdom through the ages, and his name will be [remembered] through the ages.’

¹⁵ Well, Nathan then spoke those words and relayed everything in that vision to David. ¹⁶ Then King David went and sat before Jehovah and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God… what is [so good about] my house that You’ve loved me through the age? ¹⁷ And now it seems that this thing has become less important to You, O God, for You have spoken about this House that your servant [would build] for a long time. But then You looked upon me in a vision that was given to a man and raised me up high, O Jehovah God. ¹⁸ So now, how shall I proceed to glorify You? For, Your servant knows ¹⁹ that what You have done is whatever is in Your heart, and it is all greatness.

²⁰ ‘O Jehovah, there’s no other like You, and there’s no god other than You… no one that we’ve ever heard of. ²¹ And there’s no nation like Your people Israel anywhere else on earth who have been guided by You, O God… a people who You’ve ransomed for Yourself. For, You’ve given Your people a great name, and driven others away from before those who You ransomed out of the nation of Egypt. ²² And You’ve appointed Israel as Your people exclusively through the ages. Then You, O Jehovah, have become their God.

²³ ‘And now, O Jehovah; concerning what You’ve said to Your servant about this house… may the words that You said be trusted through the ages! ²⁴ And may Your Name be trusted and magnified through the ages, O Jehovah the Almighty, the God of Israel. For, You are the God of Israel and of the house of David Your servant, who now stands before You. ²⁵ O Jehovah; you are my God, and now You’ve opened the ears of Your servant about building this house. And it’s because of this that I saw the need to pray before Your face.

²⁶ ‘And now, O Jehovah; You are Him… God! You’ve spoken about these good things to Your servant, ²⁷ and You’ve started blessing the house of your servant. So, may it all stand that way before You through the ages. For You, O Jehovah, have blest, and You’ve promised Your blessings through the ages!’

Chapter 18

¹ After that, David attacked the Philistines and routed them, capturing Gath and all its surrounding villages from them. ² Then he attacked Moab and made them serve him and pay him tribute. ³ David also attacked AdraAzar, the king of SoUba, at Hamath, as he was marching toward the EuPhrates. ⁴ And there he captured a thousand chariots, seven thousand horses, and twenty thousand of their infantrymen. Then David had all the chariots destroyed, except for a hundred of them. ⁵ And when the Syrians came from Damascus to help AdraAzar, David attacked them and killed twenty-two thousand of their men, ⁶ and he left a garrison in Syria near Damascus. So, Syria became David’s servants and had to bring tributes to him.

Well, Jehovah watched over David, no matter where he went. ⁷ So David took the golden collars and other items of gold that were worn by the servants of AdraAzar, and had it all carried back to Jerusalem. ⁸ Then he went to MataBeth (which was one of AdraAzar’s capital cities) and he brought back a tremendous amount of brass, which Solomon later used to make the Sacred Sea, the brass columns, and many other sacred utensils.

⁹ Well, when Thoa the king of Hamath heard that David had beaten the army of AdraAzar (the king of SoUba), ¹⁰ he sent his son AdouRam to King David to enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him on winning his war against AdraAzar and killing him, because Thoa had been at war with AdraAzar.

¹¹ Then David took all the gold, silver, and brass items that he captured from the nations of Idumea, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalechites, and set them aside as holy to Jehovah. ¹² For AbiShai (the son of ZeruJah) had attacked the Idumeans in the Salt Valley, where he killed eighteen thousand of their men. ¹³ Then he placed a garrison in the Valley, and the Idumeans also became David’s servants.

Well, Jehovah watched over David, no matter where he went, ¹⁴ so David reigned over all Israel, and he served as a righteous judge over his people.

¹⁵ At the time, JoAb (the son of ZeruJah) was the commanding general of his army, JoSaphat (the son of AchiLoud) was the recorder, ¹⁶ Zadok (the son of AhiTub) and AhiMelech (the son of AbiAthar) were the Priests, SoUsa was the scribe, ¹⁷ BenaiJah (the son of JehoiAda) was in charge of the Cherethites and Phelethites, and David’s sons served as his second-in-command.

Chapter 19

¹ In time, NaAs (the king of the sons of Ammon) died, and his son Anan became the king in his place. ² So David said: ‘What kind thing can I do for Anan (the son of NaAs), because his father was very kind toward me?’ Then David sent messengers to comfort him after the death of his father.

³ Well, when the servants of David arrived in the land of the Ammonites and went to Anan to comfort him, the Ammonite governors said to [Anan]: ‘Isn’t David glorifying your father over you by sending these comforters? And isn’t he really sending them to see the city and to spy in our land?’

⁴ So, Anan grabbed the servants of David and shaved them, and then he cut off their uniforms halfway to the waist and sent them away.

⁵ Well, when the report of what was done to his men reached David, he sent people to meet them, because they had been very disgraced, and the king told them to stay in Jericho and not to return until their beards grew back.

⁶ Meanwhile, the sons of Ammon realized that they had disgraced David’s emissaries, so Anan and his men sent a shipment of thirty-five tons of silver to hire an army from MesoPotamia and from [King] MoOcha in Syria, along with chariots and cavalry. ⁷ They hired thirty-two thousand chariots, and King MoOcha brought his army, who camped next to MaiDaba. Also, the Ammonites gathered an army from their cities and they came to wage war [with Israel]. ⁸ So when David heard about this, he sent JoAb and his entire army to meet them.

⁹ Well, the sons of Ammon marched right up to the city gates, but the kings camped all by themselves out in the fields. ¹⁰ And when JoAb saw that they were ready to attack him from all sides, he took all the young men from the army and had them face the Syrians. ¹¹ Then he put the rest of the army into the hands of his brother AbiShai, and they set up battle lines against the sons of Ammon. ¹² And he told [his brother], ‘If the Syrians start to win, you come and help me, and if the Ammonites start to win, I’ll come to help you. ¹³ If we show that we’re [courageous], our people will be stronger; because these are the cities of our God, and Jehovah will do whatever is good in His eyes.’

¹⁴ So JoAb attacked the Syrians and they fled before him. ¹⁵ And when the Ammonites saw the Syrians retreating, they turned and ran from AbiShai (JoAb’s brother), and they ran into the city. Then JoAb went back to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And when the Syrians saw that Israel had left the battle, they sent messengers to the Syrians who were camped on the other side of the river, and SoPha (the commander-in-chief of the army of AdraAzar) marched ahead of them.

¹⁷ Well when this was reported to David, he gathered the whole army of Israel, and they crossed the Jordan and set up battle lines against them. So, Syria deployed opposite David, and the battle began. ¹⁸ Then Syria again turned and ran from Israel, and David killed forty thousand of their infantry; he captured seven thousand of their chariots; and he killed SoPha (the commander-in-chief of their army).

¹⁹ Well, when the servants of AdraAzar saw that they had lost the battle to Israel, they signed a treaty with David and started serving him. And thereafter, the Syrians would never again come to help the sons of Ammon.

Chapter 20

¹ It was during the course of that year, as the kings went to war, that JoAb led the entire army [of Israel] and they destroyed the cities of Ammon, then they went and besieged RabBah.

Now, David had stayed behind in Jerusalem as JoAb attacked RabBah and razed the city. ² Then David [went there and] took the gold crown from the head of MolChom their king. It weighed sixty pounds and was also covered with precious stones, so David took it and wore it.

Then he looted the city and brought back a huge number of treasures. ³ He also captured the people and had them sawed in half with iron saws and with threshing machines. And that’s what David did to all the sons of Ammon. Thereafter, David returned to Jerusalem with his army.

⁴ However, there was still war in Gazer with the Philistines. And it was then that SoboChai cut down OuSathi the Saphite (who was from the family of giants) and dishonored him. ⁵ But the war with the Philistines continued, and ElLanan (the son of JaIr) killed Lachmi (the brother of GoliAth the Gittite) whose wooden spear was as large as a weaving loom.

⁶ They also had a huge man there with twenty-four fingers and toes (six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot), who was a descendant of the giants. ⁷ And when he came forward and slandered Israel, JoNathan (the son of David’s brother SamaAh) attacked him and killed him.

⁸ These men were all born to Rapha in Gath, and all four were giants, but they all fell by the hand of David and his servants.

Chapter 21

¹ Well, the Slanderer came to Israel and [he] urged David to count his people. ² So, King David said to JoAb and his generals, ‘Go and do a census of Israel from BeerSheba to Dan, then bring [the numbers] to me, so I’ll know how many men we have [in our army].’

³ And JoAb said, ‘May Jehovah multiply His people a hundred times. But the eyes of my lord the king can see all of his servants; so, why do you want to do this, my lord? Be careful that you don’t bring a sin upon Israel.’

⁴ However, the king just wouldn’t listen to JoAb. So, JoAb traveled throughout all Israel, and then he returned to Jerusalem and gave the numbers of the people to David. There were a million one hundred thousand men who could carry the sword. ⁵ [In addition], among the sons of Judah there were four hundred-and-seventy thousand. ⁶ However, he didn’t count [the tribes of] Levi and BenJamin as being among [the tribe of Judah], because the king told JoAb not to include them.

⁷ Well, doing this was wicked [in the eyes of] God, so He struck Israel. ⁸ Then David said to God, ‘I [was guilty of] a great sin when I did this thing! So, please forgive the evil of Your servant, because I’ve done something very foolish.’

⁹ Then Jehovah spoke to Gad, David’s Seer, and said, ¹⁰ ‘Go speak to David and tell him that this is what Jehovah has said: I will give you a choice of three punishments. Choose which you prefer, and I’ll bring it upon you.’

¹¹ So, Gad went to David and told him, ‘This is what Jehovah has said, Choose for yourself ¹² from these three:

· Three years of famine

· Three months of destruction and fleeing from your enemies

· Three days of death in the land, when the messenger of Jehovah will go destroying among all the inheritance of Israel.

‘Now, give me an answer for the One who sent me… which do you choose?’

¹³ And David told Gad, ‘Those are three very tough choices, so I’ll leave it in the hands of Jehovah, because He is exceptionally compassionate. I don’t want to leave myself in the hands of men.’

¹⁴ So, Jehovah sent death throughout all Israel, and seventy thousand men died. ¹⁵ Then God sent His messenger to Jerusalem to wipe it out too, but as he was destroying it, Jehovah saw what was happening and felt sorry for the evil. So He said to the messenger who was doing the destroying, ‘That’s enough; stay your hand!’

And at the time, the messenger of Jehovah was standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ For, David looked up and saw the messenger of Jehovah standing there between the earth and the sky with an unsheathed broadsword in his hand that was stretched out over Jerusalem, and David fell to the ground. Then the elders put on sackcloth and covered their faces.

¹⁷ And David said to God, ‘Wasn’t it me who told them to count the people? I’m the one who sinned! I’m the one who told them to do this bad thing! And these sheep; what did they do, O Jehovah God? Bring Your hand and Your destruction against me and the house of my father, not against Your people, O Jehovah.’

¹⁸ Then the messenger of Jehovah told Gad, ‘Now, tell David to build an Altar to Jehovah at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.’

¹⁹ So David went and did what Gad had told him in the Name of Jehovah. ²⁰ And when Ornan turned and saw the king and four of his sons coming, he hid himself.

Well, Ornan had been threshing wheat at the time. ²¹ So, David walked toward Ornan, and he came down off the threshing floor and bowed with his face to the ground before David. ²² Then David said, ‘Give me your threshing floor, because I want to build an Altar to Jehovah upon it. Tell me how much you want for it, because this will bring an end to the calamity that has been plaguing the people.’

²³ And Ornan said to David, ‘Take it! And may my lord the king do whatever he thinks is best. Why look; here are some calves to sacrifice as whole burnt offerings, as well as some wood and grain. I give it all to you!’

²⁴ And David said to Ornan, ‘No, I want to pay you whatever it’s worth, because there’s no way that I’ll take what’s yours for Jehovah and sacrifice a whole burnt offering for myself free of charge.’

²⁵ So, David paid Ornan six hundred weighed gold coins for his place, ²⁶ then he built an Altar to Jehovah there and sacrificed whole burnt offerings and a deliverance offering, as he yelled out to Jehovah.

Well, Jehovah listened to him from the heavens as he stood there by the fire and the whole burnt offerings on the Altar. ²⁷ And Jehovah spoke to the messenger, and he put the broadsword back into its sheath. ²⁸ Then David saw that Jehovah had listened to him there at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, where he had offered the sacrifices.

²⁹ At the time, the Tent of Jehovah that Moses had made was in the desert, as was the Altar for sacrificing whole burnt offerings… it was located in Thama in Gibeon. ³⁰ But David wasn’t able to go there to seek the face of God, because he didn’t want to turn away too quickly from the broadsword that was being held by the messenger of Jehovah.

Chapter 22

¹ And David said, ‘This is where the Temple of Jehovah our God [will be built], and this is the Altar for the whole burnt offerings of Israel.’

² Then David said, ‘Gather all the foreigners in the land of Israel.’ And he assigned quarry workers to cut and work stones to build the Temple of Jehovah.

³ Then he prepared other things for the project, such as the nails, the doorways, the gates, and the hinges. He also collected a huge amount of brass… so much that its weight couldn’t even be calculated. ⁴ And there was an incalculable amount of cedar lumber, which the Sidonians and the people of Tyre had brought to David. ⁵ Then David said, ‘My son Solomon is still a young boy, but he will erect this great Temple to Jehovah and it will be famous for its glory throughout the whole earth… and I will prepare for it.’

So, David did prepare for it by [collecting] many things before he died. ⁶ Then he called his son Solomon and told him to build the Temple to Jehovah the God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon, ‘My child, it has been in my heart to build a [Temple] to the Name of Jehovah God. ⁸ But the word of Jehovah came to me that said, You’ve spilled a lot of blood and fought great wars, so you may not build a Temple to My Name because of all the blood that you’ve poured out onto the ground before Me. ⁹ But {Look!} a son has been born to you who is a man of peace, and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about. The name that has been given to him is Solomon, so I will give him peace and rest, and I will appoint him [king] over Israel when his time comes. ¹⁰ Then he will build a [Temple] to My Name. He will be My son, I’ll be a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom in Israel through the ages.

¹¹ ‘Now, my son, may Jehovah be with you and bless you, for you will build a Temple to your God Jehovah, just as He said you would. ¹² And may He give you wisdom, understanding, and make you strong over Israel, so you will preserve and keep the Laws of Jehovah your God. ¹³ For, if you carefully obey the instructions and decisions that Jehovah gave to Israel through Moses, He will bless you. So, be a man and be strong! Don’t be weak or afraid!

¹⁴ ‘Now, {Look!} in my own poor way, I’ve made preparations for the Temple of Jehovah. I’ve collected hundreds of tons of gold, thousands of tons of silver, and so much brass that nobody can estimate its weight. I’ve also collected the wood and stones, and you must add to all of this.

¹⁵ ‘Now, may Jehovah be with you, and may you finish [this project]. Bring together the huge number of craftsmen that will be needed… the stone workers, carpenters, and all the wise men ¹⁶ who know how to work gold, silver, brass, and iron. Stand up and act, and Jehovah will be with you!’

¹⁷ Then David instructed all the governors of Israel to assist his son Solomon, saying, ¹⁸ ‘Isn’t Jehovah with you, and hasn’t He provided you with peace all around? He has put everyone who lives here into your hands, and the entire land is now subject to Jehovah and His people. ¹⁹ So, search for Jehovah your God with all your hearts and souls. Then come and build a Holy Place to Jehovah your God, where you should place the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah and all the rest of the holy things of God. You must build a Temple to the Name of Jehovah!’

Chapter 23

¹ Well, after David had grown old and lived a full life, his son Solomon took his place as [the king] over Israel. ² Then David brought all the rulers of Israel together, as well as the Priests and the Levites, ³ and he took a census of all the Levites who were more than thirty years old. And their head count showed there were thirty-eight thousand men who qualified, ⁴ and of these, twenty-four thousand were [assigned] over the Temple of Jehovah, six thousand were [to be] scribes and judges, ⁵ four thousand were [to be] gatekeepers, and four thousand were anointed to praise Jehovah with the sacred musical instruments, which were made specifically for that purpose.

⁶ Then David divided them by family groups [and they worked] in daily rotations.

Now, the sons of Levi were Gershon, KoHath, and MeraRi.

⁷ In the family of Gershon, there was Edan and Shimei. ⁸ The three sons (and rulers of) of Edan were JeiEl, ZeThan, and JoEl. ⁹ And the three sons of Shimei were SalomIth, JeiEl, and Dan. They were the rulers of the families of Edan.

¹⁰ The four sons of Shimei were Jeth, Ziza, JoAs, and BeriJah. ¹¹ Jeth was the firstborn, and Ziza was second. But JoAs and BeriJah didn’t have any sons, so the whole house and family received the same assignments.

¹² The four sons of KoHath were Ambram, IsaAr, Hebron, and OziEl. ¹³ The sons of Ambram were Aaron and Moses. Then Aaron and his sons were set-aside to [serve in] the Holy of Holies, to burn incense before Jehovah, and to officiate and use the power of His Name through the ages.

¹⁴ Of course, Moses was the man of God, and his sons were assigned among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ Moses’ sons were Gersam and EliEzer. ¹⁶ Gersam’s son SoubaEl was the firstborn, ¹⁷ and EliEzer’s son RabiJah was the firstborn [of his line]. EliEzer didn’t have any other sons, but the family line of RabiJah became very large.

¹⁸ The son of IsaAr was SalomOth (the firstborn).

¹⁹ The sons of Hebron were JeriJa (the firstborn), AmadiJa (the second), JeziEl (the third), and JekemiJah (the fourth).

²⁰ The sons of OziEl were Micha (the firstborn) and JesShiAh (the second).

²¹ The sons of MeraRi were MoOli and MoUsi. MoOli’s sons were EliEzer and Kis. ²² EliEzer died without any sons (just daughters), but the sons of Kis married them. ²³ The three sons of MoUsi were MoOli, Eder, and JariMoth.

²⁴ These were the names of the rulers over the descendants of Levi by houses and family lines who were more than twenty years old and served at the Temple of Jehovah.

²⁵ Then David said, ‘Jehovah the God of Israel has provided rest for His people, and He has camped in Jerusalem through the ages. ²⁶ So, the Levites won’t have to carry the Sacred Tent or any of its things anymore.’

²⁷ And the last instructions of David were to count the sons of Levi who were twenty years old and older, ²⁸ for he had appointed them to [assist the descendants] of Aaron as they served in the Temple of Jehovah. They were in charge of the courtyards, the place of worship, cleansing the holy things, and handling the maintenance of the Temple of God. ²⁹ They handled the mixing and measuring of the bread loaves, the fine flour for the sacrifice offerings, the fermentation-free bread, the fried cakes, and the place settings,

³⁰ Each morning and evening they were to praise and acknowledge Jehovah. ³¹ They also prepared all the whole burnt offerings to Jehovah on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the holidays (as they were instructed), and they always stood before Jehovah. ³² They stood guard by watches over the Tent of Proofs, over the Holy Place, and over their brothers the sons of Aaron, [whose job was to] officiate inside the Temple of Jehovah.

Chapter 24

¹ These are the [Priestly] divisions of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, AbiHu, EliEzer, and IthaMar.

² Now, Nadab and AbiHu died before their father, and they had no sons. So, the official Priests were Aaron’s sons EliEzer and IthaMar. ³ And David made a similar division. He appointed Zadok (who was a descendant of EliEzer) and AhiMelech (who was a descendant of IthaMar) as the heads over their houses and families for duties [in the Temple]. ⁴ But David found that among the descendant of EliEzer there were many more leaders and powerful men than there were among the descendants of IthaMar, so he appointed sixteen descendants of EliEzer as leaders of their houses and families, and he only appointed eight from the descendants of IthaMar.

⁵ Then he decided their assigned responsibilities in the Temple of God by lottery. ⁶ And SamaiJah (the son of NathaniEl) the scribe from the tribe of Levi, recorded the results for the king, the governors, the [High] Priest Zadok, AhiMelech (the son of AbiAthar), the heads of families, and for the family heads of the Priests and Levites.

A lottery was then performed for the families of EliEzer and IthaMar, ⁷ and the first group chosen was that of JoArim. JediJah was the second, ⁸ Charib was the third, SeOrim was the fourth, ⁹ MelciJah was the fifth, MeiAmin was the sixth, ¹⁰ Kos was the seventh, AbiJah was the eighth, ¹¹ JeShua was the ninth, ShecheniJah was the tenth, ¹² EliAbi was the eleventh, JaKim was the twelfth, ¹³ Opha was the thirteenth, JesBaal was the fourteenth, ¹⁴ BelGa was the fifteenth, EmMer was the sixteenth, ¹⁵ Hezir was the seventeenth, Aphese was the eighteenth, ¹⁶ PhetaiJah was the nineteenth, EzekiEl was the twentieth, ¹⁷ Achim was the twenty-first, GamoUl was the twenty-second, ¹⁸ DalaiJah was the twenty-third, and MaAsaih was the twenty-fourth.

¹⁹ So, this is the way their duties were assigned and the order in which they were to enter the Temple of Jehovah, as these responsibilities were set out by their ancestor Aaron, and which were given to him by Jehovah the God of Israel.

²⁰ These are the names of the rest of Levi’s descendants: Among the descendants of Ambram there was SobaEl and his son JediJah. ²¹ From the descents of RaAbiJah there was his firstborn JesiJah. ²² From the descendants of IsaAri there was SalomOth and his son Jath. ²³ From the descendants of JediOu there was AmadiJah, JaziEl, and JekmoAm. ²⁴ From the descendants of OziEl there was Micha and his son Samer. ²⁵ Micha’s brother was IsiJa, and his son was ZachariJah.

²⁶ The sons of MeraRi were MoOli, MoUsi, and (though BonNi) OziJa. ²⁷ So, OziJa was one of MeraRi’s sons, and his sons were IsoAm, SakChour, and Abai. ²⁸ MoOli’s only son was EliEzer, ²⁹ his son was Kish, and his grandson was JerameEl. ³⁰ The sons of MoUsi were MoOli, Eder, and JariMoth. These were the sons of the Levites by the houses of their families.

Chapter 25

¹ King David also assigned some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and IdiThoum as heads of musical bands to praise [God] with woodwinds, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And these are the numbers of the musicians who were working in their bands: ² The sons of Asaph were SakChour, Joseph, NathaniJah, and EraEl. These sons of Asaph worked under Asaph, who was a Prophet, and he reported directly to the king.

³ Under IdiThoum were his six sons, GodoliJah, SoUri, IseAs, Shimei, AsabiJah, and MatTathiJah. They all played the woodwinds to praise and acknowledge Jehovah.

⁴ Under Heman were his sons BoukiJah, MathaniJah, OziEl, SoubaEl, JeriMoth, AnaniJah, Anan, EliAtha, GodolLathi, RomethiEzer, JesBasaka, MalLithi, Otheri, and MeAzOth. ⁵ (These were all the sons of Heman.) They played music to the king about the Word of God with horns. ⁶ Now, God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters, and they all (including their father) sang in the Temple to the music of the cymbals, stringed instruments, and woodwinds during the services, and they all reported directly to the king (along with Asaph, IdiThoum, and Heman).

⁷ In addition, many others in their families were taught to sing to Jehovah, so altogether there were two hundred and eighty-eight in the chorus. ⁸ Then they threw lots for themselves to choose the daily rotations of singers… from the unknown to the famous, and the novices to the experts.

⁹ And the first lot fell to Asaph (the son of Joseph, who was also called GedaliJah) and his sons. The second fell to EneiJa and twelve in his family. ¹⁰ The third fell to ZakChour and twelve in his family. ¹¹ The fourth fell to Jesri and twelve in his family. ¹² The fifth fell to NathaniJah and twelve in his family. ¹³ The sixth fell to BoUkiJah and twelve in his family. ¹⁴ The seventh fell to IshEriEl and twelve in his family. ¹⁵ The eighth fell to JosiJah and twelve in his family. ¹⁶ The ninth fell to MathaniJah and twelve in his family. ¹⁷ The tenth fell to SemeiJah and twelve in his family. ¹⁸ The eleventh fell to AsriEl and twelve in his family. ¹⁹ The twelfth fell to AsabiJah and twelve in his family. ²⁰ The thirteenth fell to SoUbaEl and twelve in his family. ²¹ The fourteenth fell to MatTathiJah and twelve in his family. ²² The fifteenth fell to JeriMoth and twelve in his family. ²³ The sixteenth fell to AnaniJah and twelve in his family. ²⁴ The seventeenth fell to JesBasaKa and twelve in his family. ²⁵ The eighteenth fell to AnaniJah and twelve in his family. ²⁶ The nineteenth fell to MalLithi and twelve in his family. ²⁷ The twentieth fell to EliAthah and twelve in his family. ²⁸ The twenty- first fell to OthEri and twelve in his family. ²⁹ The twenty-second fell to GodolLathi and twelve in his family. ³⁰ The twenty-third fell to MeAzOth and twelve in his family. And the twenty-fourth fell to RoMetThiEzer and twelve in his family.

³¹ Their brothers from the sons of Aaron also threw lots for themselves before the king, including Zadok and AhiMelech, who were the heads of the families of the Priests and the Levites, as well as the family heads and the younger ones.

Chapter 26

¹ These are the groups of the gatekeepers:

From the family of KorAh there was MoselLemiJa and his sons, who descended through Asaph. ² Under MoselLemiJa there was ZachariJah (his firstborn), JadiEl (the second), ZabadiJa (the third), JethNouEl (the fourth), ³ JoLam (the fifth), JoNathan (the sixth), EliOnai (the seventh), and ObedEdom (the eighth).

⁴ ObedEdom’s sons were SamaiJah (the firstborn), JoZabath (the second), JoAth (the third), Sachar (the fourth), NathaniEl (the fifth), ⁵ AmiEl (the sixth), IsSachar (the seventh), and PhelAthi (the eighth) – for God had blessed him.

⁶ Then there was SamaiJah’s son RosAi, who was the firstborn of the house of his father (they were all mighty men). ⁷ SamaiJah’s sons were Othni, RaphaEl, Obed, ElZabath, and AchiOud (they were the most powerful). Then there was EliOu, SabachiJah, and IshBakom. ⁸ These were descendants of ObedEdom and their ancestor MoselLemiJa. They all became great in their positions (all sixty-two of them), ⁹ and eighteen of them became very powerful.

¹⁰ Then there was Osa (from the line of MeraRi), whose sons guarded the [Temple]. And although he wasn’t the firstborn, his father appointed him head of the second division of gate guards. ¹¹ HelkiJah was second under him, then TabliJah (the third), and ZachariJah (the fourth). Altogether, there were thirteen of the sons and family of Osa. ¹² And it was from among them that the heads of the divisions of gate guards descended. They were all rulers and important men who handled the daily rotations of their families as they served in the Temple of Jehovah.

¹³ Then they all (from the least to the most important) threw lots by houses and families at the gatehouse. ¹⁴ And the lot for the gates toward the east fell to SelemiJah and ZachariJah. Then MelchiJah threw the lots for the family of JoAs, and they received the north gate. ¹⁵ Then the second lot was thrown, and ObedEdom received the south gate, which was next to the collection boxes. ¹⁶ [The Family of] Osa received the west gate, and their job was to keep watch over the road leading up to the Temple.

¹⁷ Six Levites were assigned to guard the east gate each day, four were over the north gate, there were two shifts of two watching the south gate (by the collection boxes), ¹⁸ and there were four at the west gate, plus two shifts of two guards each watching the road.

¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the family of KorAh and MeraRi.

²⁰ The Levites and their families who received the responsibility of being over the treasury in the Temple of Jehovah and watching over the holy things ²¹ were the family of Ladan (of the line of Gershon). JeiEl was the head of this family group, ²² and the sons of JeiEl were ZethOm and JoEl. They and their families were over the treasury of the Temple of Jehovah. ²³ AmBram, IsaAr, Hebron, OziEl, ²⁴ and SoUbaEl (the descendants of Moses through Gersam) were in charge of the treasury. ²⁵ The sons of his brother EliEzer were RabiJah, JosiJah, JoRam, Zechri, and SalomOth. ²⁶ It was SalomOth and his family who were over the treasures that were kept inside the Holy Place, which King David had set aside as holy after the army generals, lieutenants, and family heads brought them there. ²⁷ They brought these things in from the cities they captured, and [David had them made holy] so that construction of the Temple of Jehovah God wouldn’t be delayed.

²⁸ They were also in charge of all the holy things that had been dedicated by the Prophet SamuEl, by Saul (the son of Kish), by AbNer (the son of Ner), and by JoAb (the son of ZeruJah). All of these holy things were under the hands of SalomOth and his family.

²⁹ ChoneniJa and his family (descendants of IsaAr) were assigned to work outside [the Temple] as scribes and judges over Israel.

³⁰ AsabiJah and his family (descendants of Hebron) – all one thousand seven hundred of them – were important people, for they watched over Israel on the other side of the Jordan, to their western boundary. They served as representatives of Jehovah and of the king.

³¹ JoriJah was the leader of the Hebronites and all the generations of their families. It was in the fortieth year of his kingdom that all the powerful men were counted at JaZer of Gilead. ³² And at the time, there were two thousand seven hundred family heads; and (following Jehovah’s instructions) King David had put them in charge of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of ManasSeh.

Chapter 27

¹ Now, these are the sons of Israel by rank, who were the heads of their families and who served as generals or lieutenants in the army each month, every month of the year, as it was recorded by the scribes who officially served the king and wrote all his declarations:

In the first division there were twenty-four thousand. ² And the person who was in charge of this division was IshBoaz (the son of ZabdiEl). His division included twenty-four thousand leaders ³ from the line of Perez, and he was in charge of all the officers of the army during the first month.

⁴ In charge of the division during the second month was DodAi (the son of Ehok), and under him was MakelLoth. His division also included twenty-four thousand leaders of the army.

⁵ The general in charge during the third month was BenaiJah (the son of JehoiAda, the High Priest). In his division there were twenty-four thousand. ⁶ BenaiJah was the greatest of [David’s] thirty men, and he was in charge of the thirty. The man who served under him was his son Zabad.

⁷ In charge during the fourth month was AsahEl, JoAb’s brother, and his son ZabadiJah. There was twenty-four thousand of his family in his division.

⁸ The general in charge during the fifth month was SamaOth the JezreElite, and there were twenty-four thousand in his division.

⁹ In charge during the sixth month was OdouJah (the son of EkKes) the Thekoite, and there were twenty-four thousand in his division.

¹⁰ The general in charge of the seventh month was HelLes of PalLu, from the tribe of EphraIm. There were twenty-four thousand in his division.

¹¹ In charge during the eighth month was SoboChai the Ousathite of ZarAi. And in his division there were twenty-four thousand.

¹² The man in charge during the ninth month was AbiEzer of AnathOth, from the tribe of BenJamin. There were twenty-four thousand in his division.

¹³ The man in charge during the tenth month was MeEra from NetoPhathi of ZarAi. And there were twenty-four thousand in his division.

¹⁴ The eleventh general for the eleventh month was BenaiJah from PharaThon, of the tribe of EphraIm. In his division there were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁵ In charge during the twelfth month was CholdiJah from NetoPhathi of GoThoniEl. And there were twenty-four thousand in his division.

¹⁶ These were the leaders of each of the tribes of Israel:

[In charge of the tribe of] Reuben was EliEzer (the son of Zechri)

[In charge of the tribe of] Simeon was SaphatiAs (the son of MaAcha)

¹⁷ [In charge of the tribe of] Levi was AsabiJah (the son of KamouEl)

[In charge of the line of] Aaron was Zadok

¹⁸ [In charge of the tribe of] Judah was EliJah (the brother of David)

[In charge of the tribe of] IsSachar was Ambri (the son of MichaEl)

¹⁹ [In charge of the tribe of] ZebuLun was SamaiJah (the son of AbDiou)

[In charge of the tribe of] NaphTali was JeriMoth (the son of OziEl)

²⁰ [In charge of the tribe of] EphraIm was Ose (the son of OziOu)

[In charge of the tribe of] half-tribe of ManasSeh was JoEl (the son of PhadiJah)

²¹ [In charge of the tribe of] the half-tribe of ManasSeh in the land of Gilead was JaDai (the son of ZadiJah)

[In charge of the tribe of] BenJamin was JasiEl (the son of AbNer)

²² [In charge of the tribe of] Dan was AzariEl (the son of IroAb).

These were the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.

²³ Now, David never counted the men who were under twenty years old, because Jehovah said that He would cause Israel to grow like the stars in the sky. ²⁴ But JoAb (the son of ZeruJah) did begin to take a census of the people and he didn’t complete it, because this brought [God’s] anger against Israel. So, the number was never written in the scroll of the words of the days of King David.

²⁵ The man who was in charge of the king’s storehouses was AsMoth (the son of OdiEl). And over the storehouses in the country, towns, estates, and fortresses was JoNathan (the son of OziOu).

²⁶ The man in charge of farming was Ezrai (the son of CheloUb), ²⁷ and the person who was in charge of the fields was Shimei of RaEl. The man in charge of the wineries in the fields was Zabdi (the son of Sephni). ²⁸ And in charge of the olive groves and mulberry trees (in the plains) was BalLanan the Gedorite. The man who was over the olive storehouse was JoAs.

²⁹ The man in charge of the cattle that grazed in Sharon was SatRai the Sharonite, and the man in charge of the cattle in the valleys was Sophat (the son of AdLi).

³⁰ The man in charge of the camels was AbiJah the IshMaElite; the man in charge of the burros was JadiAh of MerAthon; ³¹ and over the sheep was JaZiz the Agarite.

These were the superintendents over the possessions of King David.

³² JoNathan (David’s uncle) was his advisor, because he was a very discerning man and a scribe. JeEl (the son of AchaMani) worked with the sons of the king. ³³ AhiTophel was also one of the king’s councilors, and HushAi was his best friend. ³⁴ And after AhiTophel came JehoiAda (the son of BenaiJah), then AbiAthar, and then JoAb (the king’s commander-in-chief).

Chapter 28

¹ Then David called for an assembly of all the governors of Israel, the chief justices of the tribes, the king’s servants, the army generals and lieutenants, the treasury department, those in charge of the king’s property, his sons, his eunuchs, and the most important warriors who were in Jerusalem. ² King David stood in the midst of the assembly and said, ‘Hear me, my brothers and my people; It came into my heart to build a House of rest for the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah, and a station for the feet of our [God, Jehovah]. So I have prepared the things that will be needed for this shelter.

³ But God said, ‘You may not build a Temple to Me that carries My Name, because you’re a man of war and you’ve spilled [too much] blood.’

⁴ Yet, Jehovah the God of Israel chose me from all the house of my father to be the king over Israel through the age. He has given the kingship to Judah and to the house of my father. And from among his sons, He chose me, because He wanted me to be the king over Israel. ⁵ And from among all my sons (and Jehovah has given me many of them), He has chosen my son Solomon and seated him on the throne of His kingdom over Israel. ⁶ For God said to me, Your son Solomon will build My Temple and My courtyard. I have taken him to be My son, and I will be his Father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom through the ages, as long as he faithfully obeys My Commandments and instructions as he is doing today.

⁸ ‘And now, before this entire assembly of Jehovah, and within the hearing of our God, I say [to Solomon]: Guard and seek all the Commandments of Jehovah our God, so that you will be the heir of a good land that your sons can inherit with you through the ages.

⁹ ‘And now, Solomon my son; know the God of your fathers! Serve Him with a perfect heart and a willing soul, for Jehovah regularly checks the hearts and He knows every thought! If you search for Him you can find Him, but if you leave Him, He will leave you in the end.

¹⁰ ‘Now, {Look!} Jehovah has chosen you to build a House as His sanctuary, so be strong and act!’

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the Temple, its surrounding buildings, its treasury, its upper rooms, the inner storehouses, and the room where [sacrifices are to be offered] for the forgiveness of sins. ¹² He had the plans all laid out in his mind for how the courtyards of the Temple of Jehovah were to be laid out, as well as all the places of worship, the storehouses around the Temple, the storehouses for the holy things, and the sleeping quarters. ¹³ He had the plans for the daily rotations of the Priests and Levites, the assignments of work at the Temple of Jehovah, the management of the storehouses, and for how the sacred things were to be handled.

¹⁴ Then he weighed out the gold and silver ¹⁵ for the lamp stands, and he contributed weighed money to make the lamps. ¹⁶ Thereafter, he did the same thing for the tables and place settings (because each of the tables was to be made of gold and silver), ¹⁷ the meat hooks, the drinking bowls, and the golden bowls… and the weight of the gold and silver wash basins was all specified.

¹⁸ [Then he gave] pure gold for the incense Altar, plainly showing him how much each one should weigh, and he showed him the plans for the chariot of the cherubs (the ones with open, spread wings that cover the Chest of the Sacred Agreement of Jehovah).

¹⁹ David gave everything that was written by the hand of Jehovah to Solomon, to help him understand how to execute the plans. ²⁰ Then David said to Solomon, ‘Be strong and act like a man! Don’t be afraid or terrified, because my God Jehovah is with you. He won’t push you away, and He will never abandon you until you finish all the work of building the Temple of Jehovah. Look! Here are the plans for the Temple, His Sanctuary, His treasury, the upper rooms, the inner storehouses, and the place where [sacrifices are offered] for forgiveness of sins in the Temple of Jehovah.

²¹ ‘And look! Here are the daily rotations for the Priests and Levites (for their service in the Temple of Jehovah), and the people who are [to be] with you. They are eager, wise, and skilled at all sorts of crafts, as are their supervisors; and they’re all ready to follow your instructions.’

Chapter 29

¹ Then King David said to the assembly: ‘My son Solomon, who Jehovah has taken for Himself, is still young and inexperienced, but he has a great work to do. However, this isn’t going to be accomplished by a man, but by Jehovah God.

² ‘Now, I’ve done everything in my power to prepare for the Temple of my God. [I’ve accumulated] all the gold for the things of gold, all the silver for the things of silver, all the brass for the things of brass, all the iron for the things of iron, all the wood for the things of wood, and all the stones for the things of stone. There is onyx, precious gems, all types of costly colored stones, and large amounts of white marble. ³ And yet, because I have favored myself by [preparing for] a Temple for my God, I’ve obtained even more gold and silver. And look… I’m also giving it to the Temple of my God! For, in addition to what I’ve prepared for the Holy Temple, ⁴ here is another ten-tons of gold from Ophir, and twenty-tons of pure silver with which to overlay the walls of the Temple, ⁵ and to make things of gold and silver… whatever the craftsmen can do with it! And if anyone else is eager to contribute gold to make things of gold, and silver to make things of silver, may he fill his hands for Jehovah today.’

⁶ Well, the heads of families, the governors of the sons of Israel, the generals, the lieutenants, and the king’s supervisors and managers were eager to contribute to building the Temple of Jehovah. ⁷ So, he collected thirty-tons of gold, ten thousand gold coins, sixty-tons of silver, six hundred-tons of brass, and three thousand tons of iron. ⁸ And they gave whatever stones they had to JeiEl the Gershonite to put into the storehouses for the Temple of Jehovah.

⁹ Well, all the people were very happy because they had shown such eagerness, for their hearts were filled with their zeal for Jehovah. And King David was extremely happy, ¹⁰ so he praised Jehovah before the assembly. He said: ‘O Jehovah, the God of Israel, our Father through the ages of ages; May You be praised. ¹¹ For to You, O Jehovah, belongs the greatness, the power, the boasting, the victory, the recognition, and the strength, because You made everything in heaven and on earth.

‘You are our Lord, and all the kings of all the nations are frightened before Your face, ¹² for from You comes all the wealth and glory. You’re the Ruler over everything, O Jehovah… You are above all others. And in Your hand there is strength and control; and in Your hand [is the power] to create all fame and mightiness.

¹³ ‘And now, O Jehovah, we acknowledge You and we praise the Name of which You boast. ¹⁴ But who am I, and who are my people, that we have felt so very eager for You by [contributing] these things? For, everything is Yours, and all that we are doing is giving Your things to You. ¹⁵ We’re just visitors before You, as were our ancestors, because [our lives] are like shadows on the earth that just keep passing by.

¹⁶ ‘O Jehovah our God; all these things that I’ve prepared to build a Temple to Your Holy Name have come from Your own hands, because everything belongs to You. ¹⁷ And I know, O Jehovah, that You are the One who examines the heart and that You love justice. So, it is with a pure heart that I’ve felt eager to do all these things. And now I’ve also seen gladness and eagerness for You among Your people.

¹⁸ ‘O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel… the God of our fathers; keep this feeling in the minds and hearts of Your people through the ages, and make their hearts straight toward You! ¹⁹ Also, give my son Solomon a good heart, and make him obey Your Commandments, instructions, and orders, and to take the lead in finishing Your Temple.’

²⁰ Then David said to the entire assembly, ‘Praise Jehovah our God!’

And everyone there praised Jehovah, the God of their ancestors, and bent their knees to bow low before Jehovah and the king.

²¹ Thereafter, David offered sacrifices to Jehovah. And on the next day, he sacrificed a thousand calves, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs as whole burnt offerings, as well as drink offerings; and [he offered] many more sacrifices on behalf of Israel. ²² So, they joyfully ate and drank there before Jehovah that day, and they held a second coronation for David’s son Solomon, anointing him as king before Jehovah, and ZaDok as the [High] Priest.

²³ And thereafter, Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah as king in place of his father David, and everyone thought highly of him. For all Israel – ²⁴ the governors, the mighty ones, and all the sons of his father King David – submitted to him. ²⁵ And Jehovah made Solomon great before all Israel, giving him greater glory than any king that came before him.

²⁶ Well, David (the son of Jesse) had ruled Israel for ²⁷ forty years… seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ²⁸ But when he was old, and after he had lived a long and good life filled with wealth and glory, [he died], and his son Solomon took his place.

²⁹ The rest of the words of King David, from the beginning to the end, were written by the Seer SamuEl, by the Prophet Nathan, and by the Seer Gad, as well as the things about his kingship, the area of his rule, the events of those times, and the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the nations of the land.

Notes

Age

Two words imply infinite states in the Bible; one is the Greek word athanasia (undying), which is only found in two places, 1 Corinthians15:53, where it mentions resurrected ones as clothing themselves with immortality, and at 1 Timothy 6:16, where Paul speaks of Jesus as having received it. The other Greek word is aidios, which is used at Romans 1:20 to describe God’s Power and Might as eternal, and at Jude 6 when speaking of the perpetual state of gloomy darkness that rebellious angels have been confined to.

However, the Greek word aionos (pronounced ai-on-oss), which is used throughout the Bible and is often translated as forever and everlasting, is what the English word eon is derived from. It means an indefinite period, and there is no exact English word to translate it. The best equivalents are age(s) or era(s). Where the plural form of the word (ages) is used, it refers to a long time… at least multiple generations. However, where the singular form is used (age or era), this appears to mean a much shorter period, such as a lifetime, generation, or era. And where the term ages of ages is used (such as at Ephesians 3:21), which is usually said in reference to God, we would assume that this truly means forever.

It is noteworthy that aionos is the word that is used in the Greek Septuagint in place of the Hebrew word ohlam, which is also translated as forever and time indefinite in popular versions of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel. So this one word (aionos) is translated as forever, everlasting, eternal, system of things, time indefinite, [end of] the world, long ago, from of old, etc. Obviously, something is very wrong here, because the word can’t mean a period having a definite end in one place and infinity in another.

Take for example, the unique way that aionos is used in the question that Jesus’ Apostles asked him, which is found at Matthew 24:3, ‘What will be the signs when you are near and this age will come to its conclusion?’ You can see that the word aionos obviously doesn’t mean forever, everlasting, or eternal in this case, nor did it mean world or system of things. It simply meant the age or, the time before the end would come. And for them, that meant the age when God’s Temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed, because that’s what Jesus had just told them.

The word aionos (which we have translated as age here) is also translated as world (KJ) and as system of things (NW) in other Bibles. However, if the Apostles had meant any of those words, they would have used the Greek word cosmos, not aionos, for world or system of things.

The ancient Hebrews viewed everything (and rightly so) as having a beginning and an end. For that reason, you will only find three places in the Bible where words are used that imply no end and none that imply no beginning. An interesting possible insight on the reason for this can be found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says: ‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and your hands made the heavens. They will destroy themselves, but you will remain. They will grow old just like clothes do. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them like clothes. Yes, you are the one, and your years will never run out.’

The problem with most Bible translations is that when they encounter the word aionos in all its different tenses, they interpret it according to accepted doctrine, not according to the way that Jesus and his disciples used it. So the common renderings forever, eternal, and everlasting are used even when the word is in its singular forms (aioni, aiona, aionos, aionion, aionian, aionios, aioniou), and this totally distorts the meaning of the text.

Take for example, the scripture at John 5:24, where Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth; the one who hears what I say and believes in the One that sent me will have life in this age. He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’

Most Bibles translate Jesus as saying that those who believe in the One who sent him will have everlasting life (or the equivalent). However, the words that Jesus used there were, zoe aionos (life age – singular), not zoe aionion (life ages – plural).

Notice how Jesus explained the meaning of these words with his next statement, ‘He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’

So what Jesus was saying here, wasn’t that they would have everlasting life, but that they in their current life would be considered among the living, not among the dead (see Revelation 20:12).

This doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t live forever… it’s just that Jesus wasn’t really saying that. What we find (from consideration of the evidence found in the bulk of Jesus’ words about life) is that he never taught the hope of ‘life eternal,’ ‘everlasting life,’ or ‘immortality,’ in those specific words. However, the concept is still there. What he taught was that righteous people will receive ‘life in the age,’ or be considered worthy of (possibly everlasting) life by God during their current lifetimes… that their names would be written in ‘the scroll of life,’ and that they would not have to be judged, but will have already ‘crossed over from death to life,’ as Jesus said at John 5:24.

Yes, we know that this is a difficult concept to understand, but it’s what Jesus actually said.

For more information, select the linked documents, The Hereafter and Does the Bible Promise Everlasting Life?

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Anointing

At Exodus 29:29 we find that Aaron and his sons were to be ‘anointed’ as Priests to Jehovah, and that this action would make them ‘holy,’ or clean. It also signified that had been ‘chosen’ to this office by God. And in Leviticus, when we read of the ‘anointed’ Priest, the reference seems to be to one of the Priests who has been chosen for the special office of what later became known as the High Priest, which gives credence to our translating Christos as Chosen One, rather than Christ, in the Greek Scripture portion of this Bible.

The Greek word that we translated as anointed here is chriseis, which can also be translated as Christ (it’s just a conjugation of Christos), since christ and anointed both come from the same root, which is Greek for olive oil (it may also mean Judged, since the words are similar). So, Jesus wasn’t the first or only one to be correctly referred to as a christ.

Why olive oil? Because, that substance was traditionally poured over the heads of those who God chose to be priests and kings over Israel. However, at least in the case of Aaron and his sons, fragrant herbs were added to the oil to give it a pleasing odor. This is implied at Exodus 25:7 where the Israelites were asked to donate ‘fragrances for anointing oil.’ And we find the exact formula for the anointing oil at Exodus 30:34, where we read that it was to be made of ‘sixteen pounds of choice myrrh flowers, eight pounds of sweet-smelling cinnamon, eight pounds of sweet-smelling calamus, sixteen pounds of cassia (for the Holy Place), and a gallon of olive oil.’

The physical anointing with oil also appears to have pictured their receiving of God’s Holy Breath, making them ‘holy,’ which was an appropriate description for Jesus years later. And remember that both the ‘anointed’ priests and kings pictured Jesus. So, the term christ is apropos.

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Bible Measurements

The most common unit for measuring length, height, and depth in the Bible is a cubit, which is the length of a man’s forearm. And of course, the lengths of forearms vary depending on the size of the person, so a cubit may be anywhere between eighteen and twenty-two inches. However, to give you a better idea of the size and proportions of things in the Bible, we have converted the units of measure to more familiar terms, such as feet and inches. And we have roughly averaged the sizes or lengths.

Also, some units of measure, such as a cor (about 32 bushels), hin, or bath (about 6 gallons), have been roughly estimated, since such terms are obsolete.

We have also dropped the obscure names of coins, since most readers have no idea of their value, and simply inserted the type of coin they are (gold, silver, or copper), and sometimes their size, to provide you some frame of reference.

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Soul or?

The Greek word psyche (as in psychology) has been translated many ways, including soul, life, etc. However, psyche actually means something that breathes. It is used in the Bible to describe both breathing animals and breathing humans. So by definition, a soul cannot leave the body, because a soul is what the living body (whether human or animal) is (see Genesis 2:7).

In ancient Greece, philosophers eventually added another meaning to psyche: The inner person (as opposed to the person that others see and come to know). And with time, the pagan religion of Greece started to teach that this inner person is its own entity and can never die (is immortal). Over the centuries, this pagan Greek doctrine crept into the Christian religions. Please see the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul for more history of the word.

However, such Greek philosophical thought never influenced Jesus and his Apostles. So, they consistently used psyche to indicate a living person or animal. The teaching that the soul is immortal stands in direct conflict with Jesus’ promise of a resurrection, because, if a person is immortal (can never die) he/she can never be resurrected (brought back to life).

In addition, the teaching of the immortality of the human soul is totally without support from the Bible. The word immortal(ity) (Gr: athanasia or undying) is only mentioned in the Bible in two places, and it isn’t used with or applied to the word soul in either case. Both of these scriptures show that immortality is only given by God as a reward for righteousness. And as Ezekiel 18:4 says, ‘The person (gr. psyche or ‘soul’) that is sinning will die (gr. apothaneitai).’

Of course, there are places in the Bible where the word soul means more than just a living, fleshly body. For example, God is recorded to have spoken of ‘My Soul’ in several places. Obviously, God is much more than just a ‘soul’ as most people think of that term, and He surely wasn’t talking about His having a human body. So we must conclude that what He was referring to is His life.

Then there are Jesus’ words found at Matthew 10:28, which read, ‘Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the person (psyche). Rather, be afraid of him who can destroy both the person and the body in the garbage dump.’ Here, Jesus is using the word psyche (soul) to refer to the value of life that remains with God until the resurrection. And he obviously isn’t referring the soul as immortal here, because he says God will destroy (gr. apolesai) the [unrighteous] soul or person.

Unfortunately, no single word can be used to translate psyche in every possible Bible application, so various terms are used herein, depending on the circumstances, but always in an attempt to harmonize with the meaning.

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Breath

The Greek word pneuma (as in pneumonia, a breathing disease) means breath or wind – the movement of air. In other Bible translations, this word is often translated as spirit or ghost – as in Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. However, spirit is just a shortened form of the Latin word spiritu, which just means breath in Latin. And ghost conveys another meaning altogether.

The most common use of the word pneuma in the Bible is to imply an unseen force (such as breath or wind). And the problem with translating it as spirit or ghost is that many people have started believing that the unseen force that is called [God’s] Holy Breath herein, is another God-like person and part of a Divine ‘Trinity.’ This can’t be true, because the only scripture that can be used to support this theory (that is, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Breath are supposed to be ‘one’) is found at Matthew 28:19, which simply says that baptism should be done ‘in the name of’ (or, in recognition of) these three. All other scriptures that are used to prove the Trinity theory fail to mention the Holy Breath as part of that group. And the King James wording of 1 John 5:7 (which was used for years to attempt to prove the Trinity) is spurious (something that was added to the Bible). In fact, the reference to the Holy Breath at Matthew 28:19 may also be spurious, and if so, then there are no actual Bible references that mention God’s Holy Breath along with the Father and the Son.

So to prevent confusion, the Greek word pneuma is frequently translated as breath herein. However, there are exceptions, as in instances where the Bible refers to demons as ‘spirits.’ Translating pneuma as breath in these cases, although correct, might just be confusing. There are also places where we have left pneuma translated as spirit, when the word implies a person's tendency (or spirit). And, since the nuance implied by the word Spirit in the English language (an unseen power) is correct, we recently changed back to translating pneuma as Spirit in several places, when referring to God’s Holy Spirit. However, recognize that pneuma is often best defined by calling it [God’s] Holy Breath. For an example, see the Note Worshiping God In Spirit and Truth.

Another important use of the word pneuma is in the phrase, ‘Breath of Life.’ This phrase means more than just breathing; it refers to the entire mechanics of life itself. It’s the unseen force of life for all creatures… it’s what makes each cell alive. However, nowhere does the Bible describe the ‘pneuma’ as immortal, nor is it the same as the soul (a breathing thing), so it can (figuratively) ‘return to God’ at death,’ because all hope of future life depends on God and His promise of a resurrection.

Note in particular how the term Breath is used at Job 27:3, where Job spoke of God’s Breath or Spirit. For there he asked, ‘Does the Breath of the Divine One remain in my nose?’ As you can see from his application of this word, pneuma obviously referred to God’s Breath in this case, not to a person or to an unseen force. He was talking about that which comes from God and caused him to breathe… the Breath of Life.

It is interesting that at Genesis 6:3 God says, ‘I won’t allow My Breath to stay with these men through the the age, for they are fleshly.’ In Greek that reads, ‘Ou me katameine to pneuma mou en tois anthropois toutoiseis ton aiona, dia ai einai autous sarka,’ or, ‘Not not should stay the Breath Mine with these men the age through, their being flesh.’

While the words Breath Mine (pneuma mou) here can refer to God’s Holy Breath, it seems more likely that He is referring to the breath of life that he gave Adam. So it appears as though what He was saying here is that the breath of life (of the people of that age) would be removed prematurely. However, since God referred to it as ‘My Breath,’ there may be a link implied between God’s Holy Breath and the breath of life. For more information, see the attached link ‘The Powers of God’s Holy Spirit.’

However, when Jesus died (as the words recorded at John 19:30 say), ‘he hung his head and quit breathing’ (gr. kai klinas ten kephalen paredoken to pneuma, or, and inclined his head giving/up the breath).

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God’s Messengers

Most Bible translations render the Greek word aggelos (pronounced ahn-gel-ose – with a hard g) as angel wherever it is found. However, aggelos is just the Greek word for messenger. True, in most cases where the Bible speaks of angels, it is referring to spirit messengers from God. However, this may not be the meaning in every instance, and always translating it as angel may distort what was said in certain instances.

For example, consider the words at Acts 12:15, where Peter had just been released from prison and had appeared at the door of some faithful Christians. In Greek, the latter part of this verse reads, ‘oi de elegon Ho aggelos estin autou,’ and is often translated as, ‘They began to say, It is his angel.’

This rendering doesn’t sound reasonable, for it would have been bizarre for Christians to assume that an angel from God (who looked like Peter) was standing and knocking at their door. Rather, the rendering we have used herein makes more sense, ‘So they said, It’s his messenger.’

Another good example of why aggelos shouldn’t always be translated as angel can be found at Genesis 32:3, which reads in Greek, ‘Apasteile de Iakob aggelous emprosthen autou pros Hesau ton adelphon autou,’ or, ‘Sent of Jacob angels ahead of him toward Esau the brother of him.’ Here Jacob was obviously sending human messengers to his brother, not heavenly ones.

And consider the words at Numbers 20:14, where we read that Moses sent messengers (gr. aggelous – messengers, plural) from Cades to the king of Edom.’ Then in verse 16, it says that ‘Jehovah … heard our voice and sent His messenger (gr. aggelon – messenger, singular) who brought us out of Egypt.’

Also, consider the words of Haggai 1:13, where we read: ‘Then the Messenger (or angel) of Jehovah, Haggai, one of the [many] messengers (or angels) of Jehovah, said to the people, Jehovah says I am with you!’

Yet, Haggai was just a man not a spirit.

Obviously, although the same word (with only conjugated variations) is used to speak of two different types of messengers here… those who are human and those who were sent from heaven by God. As the result, most Bibles translate the first instance as messengers, but the second as angel. We have not chosen to make this distinction, and we have rendered the word as messenger or messengers in each instance, because this proper translation of the word provides readers a better look at what position these heavenly sons of God held. For angel isn’t a heavenly rank it’s a duty.

Also, translating aggelos as messenger (when it truly means an ‘angel’) helps to provide readers a better, deeper understanding of the actual role that such spiritual sons of God play in His dealings with mankind. And it helps us to understand why the Bible never speaks of female or baby angels.

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The Heavens or Sky, the Earth or the Land?

In both the Ancient Scriptures of Israel and in the Christian Era Scriptures, we find all the realm of creation divided into three entities; the heavens (or sky), the earth (the land or ground), and the seas (the waters). Now, in contemporary English we understand that there is a difference between the heavens and the sky, the earth and the land (or ground), and the seas and waters. However, in both Hebrew and Greek, these fine distinctions that we accept because of our modern technology, can’t be found. So, Genesis 1:1 could literally be translated as, ‘In the beginning God created the sky and the ground.’

This is accurate, because it was the view of man from the earth. There was the land that he stood on, the sky above, and the water. There was no technical understanding of the earth as a planet, because men didn’t view the earth as we do today, as a ball in space… it just wasn’t necessary at the time. However, because of these distinctions that we understand so well today, translators must choose the proper words to provide the right nuances in English, so readers can grasp the proper meaning of each text.

This is why you’ll find the Greek word ourano translated as both heaven(s) and sky herein, depending on the context. You’ll also find the Greek words ge and ges translated as earth, ground, or land, depending on the context. So, the symbolic words at 1 Peter 3:5, 6, for example, are translated herein as, ‘The thing that they don’t want to understand is this: That the ancient earth and sky were out of the water, but (in obedience to God’s instructions) they stood together between the waters.’ (For an example of the problems created by the wrong use of the words ge and ges, see the linked document Isaiah 24 - Is It Speaking of Armageddon?).

Notice that the ‘earth and sky’ were located ‘between the water.’ So, although other Bibles translated this verse as speaking of the ‘heavens and earth,’ the reference is to that portion of the heavens that are close to the earth, or the sky. Likewise, at Matthew 5:5, where Jesus spoke of the ‘meek’ as inheriting the earth; since he was talking about people receiving an ‘allotment’ on the earth, we have chosen to translate ges as earth, not land or ground.

And finally, when it comes to the seas (gr. thalassa), there are already distinctions as to different types of waters in the Greek text. For instance, seas are called thalassa and rivers are called potamos (or ‘flowing’). However, notice (in Revelation 20: 13) how the resurrection of the dead is divided between those who died on land and those who were lost in the water, ‘The sea gave up its dead, death and the grave gave up those dead in them, and they were all judged by the things they did.’

We again find all three of these realms of creation brought together symbolically at Revelation 21:1, where it says, ‘Then I saw a new earth and sky, because the previous earth and sky had disappeared, as did the sea.’

In the case of where EliJah was taken in a celestial chariot, most people think he was taken to (as their Bibles put it) ‘heaven,’ where he went to live with God. This isn’t true, because King JehoRam later received a letter from Elijah (see 2 Chronicles 21:12). So God had apparently used the celestial chariot to take him into the sky (the proper translation here), where he was then taken to another place here on the earth. For more information on this, see the linked document, The Hereafter.

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Proper Pronunciation of the Letters C and CH in Greek Words

One of the most mispronounced letters when English-speaking people try to pronounce Greek or Hebrew names is the letter C (or CH). There is no ‘soft C’ pronunciation, it is always a hard C (as in Call), even when a CH is used (as in CHrist). So the title Caesar was actually pronounced more like Kaiser (as in German). And the faithful woman Priscilla was called Prees-kee-la, as the town of Laodicea was called La-oh-dee-keh-ah. However, don’t try to pronounce those names and titles properly, because the mispronunciations are just too well entrenched.

When it comes to less familiar names though, one might try to pronounce them properly. Take for example, the name of the king of Elam, Chodollogomor, or the sons of Chet, or the people called the Chaldeans. In ancient Greek they were pronounced (approximately and respectively), Kah-dah-lah-gah-mer, Ket, and Kahl-dee-owns. Oh yes, it helps to have an interlinear Bible translation to know how the word was actually spelled and knowledge of how Greek vowels are pronounced.

The Greeks had two letters that they pronounced as a K. One looks like a K and is pronounced that way, with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. The other (the one we render as C and CH in English) looks like an X and is pronounced like a K, but with the tongue touching the soft palate at the back of the mouth, which gives a breathier sound to the K. For example, say Christ and notice the part of your mouth that the tongue touches. Then say Kill and notice the difference. This is the difference between CH and K.

So, why did the Greeks have different letters for such a small variation in sound? This is because they had no alphabet until about the time of their classical poet, Homer. They then borrowed or adapted their alphabet from the Hebrews (if you could examine both alphabets from that period, you would see the similarities). And since Hebrew is a more guttural language, their letter, Cheth (where the Greeks got their letter for CH from) has a far more pronounced palate sound.

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The Ten Lost Tribes

Over the centuries, many things have been written about what may have happened to the ten tribes of Israel who were carried away as captives by the King of Assyria. Some religious groups once speculated that they became the natives of Great Britain, while another religion teaches that they became the American Indians. Of course, both of these theories have been proven untrue by archeology and genetic research, but such teachings continue.

Whatever happened to the ten ‘lost’ tribes? The Bible tells us clearly, for at 2 Kings 17:6 we read, ‘Then the king of Assyria captured Samaria and moved all the people of Israel into Assyria – to Alae-Abor, along the Gozan River, and into the mountains of the Medes.’ Notice that this is into the land around Persia and modern-day Iraq. And there is a river in NW Iran named the Qezel Owzan, which is thought to be the Gozan.

Then, did they stay there? The account at 1 Chronicles 5:26 says, ‘So the God of Israel caused the spirit of Pul, the king of Assyria (who was also known as Tiglath-Pileser) to become enraged with them, and he sent fifty-thousand men and they relocated [the tribes of] Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of ManasSeh. He moved them to Chalak, Mabor, and along the Gozan River, where they still are today.’

So, since it is believed that the Chronicles were written by Ezra after Judah’s repatriation from Babylon (c. 560-B.C.E), it can be clearly seen that the peoples of the ten tribes were still living around Persia at that time, and they were likely disseminated among the local people, since they no longer worshiped (or had a Sacred Agreement with) Jehovah.

So then; what happened to the ten ‘lost’ tribes? They were never lost, but are now likely intermingled among people who we refer to as Arabic races throughout Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

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Why Capitals in Bible Names?

You have likely noticed that we are putting some of the letters in Bible names in capital letters. For example, we’ve started spelling such names as Jonathan as JoNathan, Isaiah as IsaiJah, and Eliezer as EliEzer. Why? Well, partly to help with the correct pronunciations of the names, and partly to show some translating consistency.

We all know that the common English pronunciation of Jonathan (for example) is Jon-uh-thun. But did you know that the first part of the name (Io in Greek, Ieho in Hebrew) refers to the name Jehovah, and the second part of the Name (Nathan) means Gift? So the name was originally pronounced Ye-hoh-nuh-thahn.

In the case of names that end with an iah, as in Isaiah, the last part of the name often includes the name of God. Isaiah, for example, means Salvation [of] Jehovah, and it was originally pronounced Ee-sai-Yah. So, why have we substituted a capital ‘J’ for the letters ‘ie’ in both of the above cases? Well, we recognize that there is an inconsistency here, because there was no letter ‘J’ in Hebrew or Greek alphabets. However, we have the choice of changing all names that start with ‘J’ (such as Jesus, John, Jonah, Joshua, Jeremiah, etc.) to start with the letters ‘Ie’, or for consistency, we can change all the ‘Ies’ into ‘Js’, which is what we have done.

Does this mean then that we are setting out a new rule for name spelling? Absolutely not, for centuries ago a Bible translator first established this rule when he spelled the name Eliou (Greek spelling, pronounced ay-lee-ou) and wrote it as EliJah, because this name is regarded as meaning ‘My God is Jehovah.’

Also notice that where a name ends with an iah, as in Jeremiah (Jehovah exalts), we have often spelled it iJah, because the i would typically be pronounced as a long e followed by a Y in Hebrew, and writing it without the i (as in JeremJah) misses this nuance. So we have rendered it JeremiJah, which is similar to the way it is often pronounced by modern-day Hebrew-speaking Jews, YeremiYah.

Another important word in names that we usually capitalize is ‘El’ (from the Hebrew Elohe, or God). So EliEzer (which people commonly pronounce Ee-lee-ay-zer and means God [has] Helped) should actually be pronounced Ehlee-EhZer. The same is true for the letters Ai, especially in the names of cities, because Ai in Hebrew refers to the word city. So AiLam probably meant the City of Lam.

Similar words, such as Bel (as in BelShazzar), Baal, and Beel, refer to ‘the Lord’ or ‘the God.’ Also, the letters ‘Ben’ and ‘Bar’ mean ‘the son of.’ ‘Beth’ means ‘the house of,’ ‘Beer’ refers to a ‘well,’ ‘Is’ or ‘Ish’ means ‘Man,’ etc.

Does this mean that we have put all the capitals in the right places? No, for we make no claim to Hebrew scholarship (all our translating here has been from Greek). So, what we are trying to do is provide a better understanding to how these names were pronounced by First-Century Christians.

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Baal, Beel, and Bel

Throughout the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (OT), you will read of Gods, people, and places with names that start with Baal, Beel, and Bel. These terms mean the Lord, the Master, or the Owner, and they usually refer to the god of a people. However; although many think of Baal or Beel as a particular god, the word was just a title for a god, and the God’s name (or the place that he/it represented) follows the title, such as Beel Phegor (as found at Numbers 25:3). And where people just referred to their god as just Baal (or Beel), they were referring to their particular lord or god of that city or land. Also, where a person’s name includes one of these terms (such as BelShazzar), it usually means that they were named after a local god (in this case, Shazzar).

Of course, having the title Baal or Beel in a name doesn’t necessarily imply that a person is a worshiper of a pagan god, for several faithful worshipers of Jehovah also had that title as part of their names. For example, the faithful Judge Gideon came to be known as JeroBaal (meaning ‘May Baal Defend Himself’) because of his action in cutting down an altar to Baal. Also, one of King Saul’s grandsons (through faithful JoNathan) was named MeriBaal (meaning ‘Opposer of Baal’); one of King David’s faithful warriors was named BaalJah (meaning ‘Lord Jehovah’); and David named one of his sons BaalJada (meaning ‘Lord Knows’).

By the way, Baal is pronounced Bah-ahl and Beel is pronounced beh-el, not Bayel or Beel.

In places where we find the letters El in a name or place, this is usually just a shortened version of the Hebrew word Elohim, meaning God. So, whereas many Bibles translate the Greek word ‘Baithelbereth’ found at Judges 9:46 (for example) as ‘Bethel Bereth,’ or ‘the temple of god ElBereth,’ or ‘the vault of the house of El-Berith,’ recognize that ‘Beth (or Baith)’ means ‘the house (or temple) of,’ ‘El’ means ‘God,’ and Bereth is that God’s name. So, we have translated it here as ‘the temple of God Bereth.’

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Satan, Devil, Lucifer, Beelzebub

It is appropriate that the heavenly name of the great Opposer and Slanderer of God is never given in the Bible. However, several terms (and one mistakenly) have been used to describe him. Here is a list of those descriptions:

Satan: This is a Hebrew word meaning, opposer, resistor, a smart person who does things to serve his own interests, and/or a person who can’t be fooled. It was applied to the Evil One because of his opposition to God. To prevent people from thinking of it as a name, it is translated as ‘the Opposer’ herein.

Devil: This is the only Greek word (Diabolos) used in the Bible to describe the evil one. The first part of the word, dia, means through. Bolos means throw (it’s where we get the English words ball and bowl). So, Devil means one who throws through, which implied Slanderer in Greek, so that’s the way it’s translated herein.

Lucifer: The name Lucifer is commonly tied to the Biblical Opposer, however the name doesn’t appear in most versions of the Bible. It does appear once in the King James Bible, at Isaiah 14:12, in which the King of Babylon is referenced as Lucifer, Son of the Morning, which is translated from the Hebrew words Helel ben Shahar – Day Star, Son of the Dawn. This term was used there, because Lucifer is the Latin term for the planet Venus, which is also known as the morning star.
So, there is no direct link in the Bible between the entity known in Hebrew as Satan and the person who was referred to as Lucifer. This was a myth that was created by Augustine after he translated the text in Isaiah from the original Hebrew into Latin.

BeelZebub: There are eight references in the Bible to this Hebrew word, and it does refer to the Slanderer. However, once again, this is not a proper name. It appears to be a title. Beel (like Baal) means Lord, and Zebub appears to refer to flies (the insects). So, BeelZebub likely means Lord of Flies.

Is the Opposer (Slanderer or BeelZebub) a real person? All one has to do is look at the titles he was given above to realize that he is. To deny his existence negates the rest of the Bible. For example, when dealing with Adam’s sin, why did God adhere so closely to a law when other options were available to Him? Why didn’t he just destroy rebellious Adam and create another man?

The fact is, He created men and His messengers with the ability to choose whether to serve Him or not, so none are automatons. And as a man failed in the Paradise of Pleasure, we can assume (and as the Scriptures support) that there were failures (and rebels) in the heavens also. This is the reason why it became necessary to have a law that clearly outlined what rebellion against God constituted, and what the consequences for violating that law would be. It was obviously for the sake of the millions of millions of heavenly spirit (breath) creatures that the issue of rebellion here on the earth had to be resolved by legal means, and in a way that demonstrated the love and loyalty of God’s first-born son, which resulted in the painful need for a ‘ransom’ (Jesus’ death).

And the idea that the Slanderer isn’t real raises other questions. For example, while Jesus was being tempted in the desert, was he simply struggling with the bad inside himself rather than against a real, evil personality? If so, we would have to conclude that there was bad in Jesus.

Also, was the battle in heaven (as spoken of at Revelation the Twelfth Chapter) just figurative and not a real war against the Opposer and his messengers? If so, then there are still ‘evil thoughts’ in heaven prior to that battle. And, in what sense would ‘the Opposer’ and his ‘messengers’ lose the battle and be confined to the earth? Also, why would internal evil be ‘angry’ in knowing that he just has ‘a short period of time left?’

And lastly, when the Opposer entered God’s presence and spoke to Him (Job the First Chapter), could we assume that this inherent evil was found in God? That isn’t likely.

However, there is some question as to the use of the Greek word Diabolos found at 1 Chronicles 21:1 (in the Greek Septuagint). First, since Diabolos is a Greek word and First Chronicles was written in Hebrew, we would assume that Diabolos (Slanderer) was substituted for the Hebrew word Satan (Opposer). But the text seems to imply that a slanderer (or resistor), not the Slanderer, had come to David. And we would have to assume it to be a satan or resistor that came to him. So, we don’t really know if the text implies that the Evil One came to him, if it was just an evil spirit that came over him, or if someone bad had urged David to defy God and take a census of Israel.

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House, Temple, or Palace?

Throughout the Bible, the Greek word that is used in most places to describe the Temple of Jehovah is Oikos (pronounced Oy-koss), or House. That is also true when it comes to describing the building where the king lived. However, for clarification we have usually chosen to translate the word as Temple when speaking of the place of worship of Jehovah, and as palace when speaking of the king’s house. We have done this because neither of these buildings were just regular houses, and the words Temple and palace better describe their appearance and use in contemporary American English.

There is a Greek word that means Temple iero, which was occasionally used to describe that place of worship. And another Greek word that is frequently used is naos (pronounced nah-oss), which means the place of the Gods or the Holy Place.

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Jehovah

Although there are no existing ancient Christian Era Scripture (New Testament) manuscripts that contain the full name Jehovah, there are four reasons why we (and other Bible scholars and translators) believe that it existed in the original text. They are:

1. The Name is found in many of the Hebrew Scripture texts that are quoted by Jesus and his disciples

2. Jesus mentioned God’s having a Name in ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ and at John 5:43, 10:25, 12:13, 17:26, and in numerous other places

3. The Name still appears in a combined form in Revelation where the word hallelujah is used (Hallel means praise, u implies second person, and Jah is a shortened form of Jehovah.)

4. The fact that Christians who lived in Jerusalem were still worshiping at the Temple of Jehovah late in Paul’s ministry proves that they still viewed Jehovah as their God (see Acts 21:20-26).

So, this Bible is one of two that we are aware of that uses God’s Name in the Christian Era Scriptures, which makes it quite unique. However, you will see that we have avoided using it in places where the Greek words ho Kyrios could have been speaking of Jesus, using the Name Jehovah mostly in quotations from Hebrew texts which were clearly speaking of The God.

That the Name Jehovah (which means, He who Causes to Be, or, The Creator) was originally in the Bible, is documented in all ancient Hebrew texts. And it is most likely that the Septuagint translation which Jesus and his Apostles used (most quotations they gave seem to have come from an ancient Septuagint) carried that Name, but probably in the four Hebrew characters that represent the English consonants YHWH.

Notice this comment by Robert Hanhart, who contributed the Introduction to ‘The Septuagint as Christian Scripture.’ He stated therein that, ‘All Greek biblical texts of Jewish origin found to date, whether from pre-Christian or Christian times, transmit the name יהוה Jehovah not in the form κύριος [Lord] encountered in all the LXX [Septuagint] manuscripts of Christian origin, but in some form of the Tetragrammaton.’ (See: ‘The Septuagint as Christian Scripture,’ 2002, book, p.7, by Martin Hengel. Introduction by Robert Hanhart, published by Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8010-2790-X).

You will see how in the book of Isaiah, for example, God is often referred to in Greek as Kyrios ho Kyrios, or, Lord the Lord (see Isaiah 48:16 LXX). And these are obvious examples of texts where God’s Name was omitted, for such sentences should clearly read Jehovah the Lord, or Lord Jehovah.

Since the words God and Lord both seem to have been substituted in the text wherever God’s Name originally appeared, it is difficult to know where to reinsert the Name in place of the titles. We could refer to the Hebrew texts and insert it wherever the Name appears there, but that would be out of harmony with the purpose of presenting this translation of the Septuagint on its own merit. So, wherever the term the Lord appears in obvious reference to God, we have decided to insert the Name Jehovah.

The rule that other translators have adopted for inserting God’s Name is to simply use it wherever the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears in the oldest existing Hebrew texts (which aren’t that old). However, it can be proven that these texts and such insertions are unreliable. For example, there is the instance when Abraham was talking to three ‘men,’ one of whom he referred to as the Lord (יהוה). In this case, Abraham was obviously speaking to a messenger from God (likely His representative, Michael), because, as God told Moses, ‘No man can see God and live.’ So in such instances we have left the term ‘Lord’ unchanged, because that is likely the actual word Abraham used.

Also, in the writings of many of the Prophets, you will notice that they were often spoken to by God’s messengers, who the Prophets referred to as the Lord. And these messengers (angels) thereafter went on to give them messages from Jehovah. For example, notice the wording of Jeremiah 2:1: ‘Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Go and yell in the ears of Jerusalem! Tell them that thus says Jehovah …’ So in this Bible you’ll see an interspersing of the term the Lord, when it appears to be referring to the angel messenger, and as Jehovah, when it appears to be referring to God.

Notice again the wording of Amos 4:13, where the one who gave the message to that Prophet (the Lord) definitely put Jehovah in the third person (though he is apparently saying that he did much of the work of creating) for there he said: ‘{Look!} I brought the thunder and I made the wind; and I report to men of His caring. For He produces the dawn and the fog, and is mounted on the heights of the earth… His Name is Jehovah God the Almighty!’

Then look at the words of Zephaniah 1:9, where the Prophet wrote: ‘And I asked, What are these, O Lord? And [God’s] messenger replied (he who was speaking to me), I will show you what all these things mean.’

So, it appears as though the Greek word kyrios should be translated as Lord or the Lord when it is referring to the angel who was speaking, and as Jehovah in many cases when it is speaking of God… regardless of how modern Hebrew texts may read, for from the context you can clearly see that these verses are quoting someone other than God.

However, the Lord (kyrios) would also have been used by Hebrew writers when speaking of God in poetry, where the previous or following verse uses the Name Jehovah; for the rule for a following verses is to use a simile.

Another important place where it appears as though the term the Lord should be used instead of the name Jehovah, is where people do something in His Name, as in James 5:10, which speaks of ‘Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.’ For, since Jehovah is God’s Name (in English), they would not be speaking in the Name of Jehovah (which is His Name), but in the Name of the Lord (Jehovah). Yes, this could be an arguable point, but where there is some question and the understanding isn't changed, we believe it is better to take a cautious approach.

Probably the most striking and confusing reference to the Lord is found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says: ‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and you made the heavens with your hands. But they’ll pass away while you still remain. For like clothes they will grow old. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them. Yes, you’re the one and your years will never expire.’

As you can see, the reference to the Lord here appears to be speaking of God (Jehovah). And if you go back to the scripture Paul was quoting (Psalm 102:25-27), you’ll see (from the context of the surrounding verses) that it appears to be speaking of Jehovah there also, and this is the conclusion of many, because the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears there in both the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts. Yet, the entire First Chapter of Hebrews is discussing Jesus and his special position before God. And Paul is clearly quoting Psalm 102:25-27 to make the point that Jesus made the heavens and the earth, that he will remain through the ages, and that he will eventually rebuild (repair) them after they grow old.

So, either Paul misapplied this scripture, which seems unlikely, or both Hebrew and Greek versions of Psalm 102 have been badly corrupted through the years, which our research proves is possible. As the result (because the answers are unclear), we have deviated from our rule of capitalizing the first letter of the words You and Your in many places in Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1, and from inserting the Name Jehovah where its use may be in doubt. However, this opens another can of worms, for it brings into question the accuracy of major portions of the Hebrew text and the use of the Tetragrammaton rule altogether.

It has also been suggested that since Jesus ‘shines with the same glory, is the exact image of His (God’s) being, and is responsible for everything that’s said through His power,’ as we were told at Hebrews 1:3, anything that is said about God also applies to Jesus… perhaps.

Of course, the easy answer to why Paul used Psalm 102 in reference to Jesus, is because Jesus is actually Jehovah, as many theologians claim. But this is proven untrue by the other words in the same First Chapter of Hebrews. For notice the following verses:

• Hebrews 1:3 ‘He sat down at the right hand of the Great One in the highest places.’
• Hebrews 1:4 ‘He has become so much greater than the [other] messengers [of God] and so different, that he has inherited a [special] name among them.’
• Hebrews 1:5 ‘For example, to which of His [other] messengers did He ever say, You’re my son. Today I’ve become your Father. Or, I will become his Father and he will become My son.’
• Hebrews 1:9 ‘You loved righteousness and hated wickedness. That’s why God (your God) anointed you with the oil of great joy among those who are your partners.’
• Hebrews 1:13 ‘And to which one of His messengers did He ever say, Sit here on My right until I set your enemies as a stool for your feet?’

(For more information on this subject, please see the linked document Who Was Jesus?)

The word that is translated lord (gr. kyrios) is found throughout the Bible in Greek texts and is usually used as a term of respect for men, such as a king, governor, or homeowner… and it is also frequently translated as master. So, whenever you see the term master used in the Bible, recognize that it is translated from the same Greek word as lord. And as translators, it’s easy to see how inappropriate it is to always refer to God as ‘the Lord.’ This was something that was started by later Jewish copyists, and the custom was adopted in English Bibles in the Fifteenth Century. Yet, even then the translators showed where God’s name once appeared in the Hebrew text by capitalizing all the letters, as in LORD (see Exodus 6:1). And in the King James Bible, the name Jehovah still does appear in four texts (see Exodus 6:3).

Some have objected to putting the name Jehovah in the Greek text, for they say that that use of the Name would have been offensive – and might have resulted in stoning – if Jesus and his disciples had actually spoken it. Yet, the Name had to be used when preaching to the Gentiles, or they simply wouldn’t have known which Lord the disciples were talking about (remember, they were polytheistic). And to call God the Lord when most gods (and many men) were also called lord, would have been very confusing to everyone that Jesus’ disciples preached to, both Jews and Gentiles. So we question whether the use of God’s Name was considered as offensive prior to Jerusalem’s destruction by the Roman armies (70-C.E.).

The reason why the Name was removed from later copies of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel was because Jewish Scribes had become so awed with God’s Name that they refused to write it or say it, so, they started substituting the term ‘the Lord’ (the Master) wherever His Name was found. And since all existing versions of the Septuagint come from the Second Century or later, it isn’t surprising that God’s Name has been omitted from such modern texts. The fact that the name Jehovah was once there is well substantiated from ancient Bible manuscripts, both Hebrew and Greek. In fact, a verse in the Jewish Talmud claims that Jesus received his miraculous powers because he had sewn the Holy Name (Jehovah) into his skin, which indicates both their (his enemy’s) recognition of Jesus’ miraculous powers and the common view of God’s Name.

Forgetting God’s Name is a practice that has had a long history with the Jews, for apparently they were trying to do this during the time of the Prophet Jeremiah (sometime in the early Seventh Century B.C.E.), for we read at Jeremiah 23:27: ‘They’ve devised ways to forget My Name, then they use their dreams to describe to their neighbors, how their fathers were the ones who’ve forgotten My Name, and turned to the service of Baal.’

What about the Christian Era Scriptures? Recognize that most early Christian Congregations (and especially those in Judea) were predominantly made up of Jews, and their traditions seemed to have had a strong negative effect on Christian conduct and doctrine throughout the world. For example; almost all of Paul’s letters (Romans through Hebrews) contain strong references to Judaizers in the congregations, and this influence likely led to substituting Lord for God’s Name in Christian writings after the deaths of the Apostles.

Perhaps Christians would more deeply appreciate the need to use the name Jehovah, rather than the title ‘Lord,’ when referring to God, if they understood that the term ‘the Lord’ in the language of the Canaanites was ‘Baal’ or ‘Beel.’ And the same term in modern-day Arabic is ‘Allah.’

Then, what of those who prefer a more exact Hebrew pronunciation of the Name, which can be Yahweh (yah-h’-Wĕh), Yahwah (yah-h’-Wah), or Yehwah (yĕh-h’-Wah)? That is commendable if their reasons are consistent. For, if their concern is to properly pronounce Bible names (not a hatred for God’s name as it is pronounced in English), they will also be found promoting the proper Hebrew pronunciation of His son’s name, Ieshuah (Ye-Shuah), or Iehoshuah (Yĕ-h’-shuah)… or at least the proper pronunciation of his name in Greek, Iesous (Yay-sous).

But then they would also have to start changing hundreds of other Bible name containing a J (such as John, Jeremiah, Jonah, Jerusalem, etc.), and they would find that almost every other Bible name is currently mispronounced in the English language.

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Crowns, Turbans, and Diadems

In the Bible, we read of two different types of royal headgear that was worn by Kings, crowns (gr. stephanos) and turbans (gr. diademas). Which did the kings of Israel, such as David and Solomon, wear?

A study of history shows that most kings wore some sort of hat on official occasions, which varied by time and by country. The gold headpiece that was worn by the pharaohs of Egypt, for example, could be referred to as neither a crown nor a turban. But in the Middle East, the common headgear for kings was usually a turban that was set with gold and jewels. And this custom remained true for the most part throughout history, because crowns were generally thought of by the faithful as representing the rays of the sun. However, golden crowns were used by pagan kings throughout the world as their sign of appointment by God.

The first mention of a crown being worn by a king of Israel is found at 1 Samuel 12:30, where King David took the gold crown from the head of the Ammonite king of Rabbath, named Malchom, and placed it on his own head. However, it doesn’t appear as though this was the custom of kings of Israel thereafter, for the placing of Malchom’s crown on his head seems to represent David’s victory, not his envy at the Pagan king’s headgear. And the fact that all Israelite men wore turbans can be seen in the depictions of Israelites in war scenes from Assyria that are currently on display at the British Museum.

If you study uses of the word crown in the Bible, you’ll see that most instances are talking about the top portion of the head, not a hat. However, there are notable exceptions to this.

At Revelation 12:3, the dragon is shown as having seven heads and ten horns, and ‘on its heads were seven royal turbans.’ We have translated this verse as saying there were seven ‘royal turbans’ on its heads, because the Greek word used there was diadema, or through wraps, indicating that they were wearing turbans (although many religious depictions incorrectly show them wearing crowns).

However, there appear to be good uses in the Bible for the word crown as a symbol of athletic victory, not necessarily of kingship. Take for example, the following occurrences:

• ‘A crown that rots away. However, we receive one that doesn’t rot.’
• ‘He will receive the crown of life that the Lord promised to all those who love him.’
• ‘You will walk away with the enduring crown of glory.’
• ‘But be faithful to death and I’ll give you the crown of life.’

So, if it is true that the crown is more a sign of victory (a garland) in the Bible than of kingship, this gives us a better understanding of verses such as the following:

• ‘A crown of twelve stars.’
• ‘He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.’

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