1 Chronicles 2

Descendants of Israel

The sons of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Descendants of Judah

³ Judah had three sons from Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the Lord saw that the oldest son, Er, was a wicked man, so he killed him. ⁴ Later Judah had twin sons from Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law. Their names were Perez and Zerah. So Judah had five sons in all.

⁵ The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

⁶ The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda—five in all.

⁷ The son of Carmi (a descendant of Zimri) was Achan, who brought disaster on Israel by taking plunder that had been set apart for the Lord.

⁸ The son of Ethan was Azariah.

From Judah’s Grandson Hezron to David

⁹ The sons of Hezron were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

¹³ Jesse’s first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, ¹⁴ his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, ¹⁵ his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David.

Other Descendants of Hezron

¹⁸ Hezron’s son Caleb had sons from his wife Azubah and from Jerioth. Her sons were named Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹ After Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrathah, and they had a son named Hur. ²⁰ Hur was the father of Uri. Uri was the father of Bezalel.

²¹ When Hezron was sixty years old, he married Gilead’s sister, the daughter of Makir. They had a son named Segub. ²² Segub was the father of Jair, who ruled twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead. ²³ (But Geshur and Aram captured the Towns of Jair and also took Kenath and its sixty surrounding villages.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

²⁴ Soon after Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah, his wife Abijah gave birth to a son named Ashhur (the father of Tekoa).

Descendants of Hezron’s Son Jerahmeel

²⁵ The sons of Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, were Ram (the firstborn), Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. ²⁶ Jerahmeel had a second wife named Atarah. She was the mother of Onam.

²⁷ The sons of Ram, the oldest son of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

²⁸ The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.

The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur.

²⁹ The sons of Abishur and his wife Abihail were Ahban and Molid.

³⁰ The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children, ³¹ but Appaim had a son named Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. Sheshan had a descendant named Ahlai.

³² The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children, ³³ but Jonathan had two sons named Peleth and Zaza.

These were all descendants of Jerahmeel.

³⁴ Sheshan had no sons, though he did have daughters. He also had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. ³⁵ Sheshan gave one of his daughters to be the wife of Jarha, and they had a son named Attai.

Descendants of Hezron’s Son Caleb

⁴² The descendants of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, included Mesha (the firstborn), who became the father of Ziph. Caleb’s descendants also included the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron.

⁴³ The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴ Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. ⁴⁵ The son of Shammai was Maon. Maon was the father of Beth-zur.

⁴⁶ Caleb’s concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.

⁴⁷ The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.

⁴⁸ Another of Caleb’s concubines, Maacah, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹ She also gave birth to Shaaph (the father of Madmannah) and Sheva (the father of Macbenah and Gibea). Caleb also had a daughter named Acsah.

⁵⁰ These were all descendants of Caleb.

Descendants of Caleb’s Son Hur

The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Caleb’s wife Ephrathah, were Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim), ⁵¹ Salma (the founder of Bethlehem), and Hareph (the founder of Beth-gader).

⁵² The descendants of Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim) were Haroeh, half the Manahathites, ⁵³ and the families of Kiriath-jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites, from whom came the people of Zorah and Eshtaol.

⁵⁴ The descendants of Salma were the people of Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, the other half of the Manahathites, the Zorites, ⁵⁵ and the families of scribes living at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. All these were Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the family of Recab.

1 Chronicles 3

Descendants of David

These are the sons of David who were born in Hebron:

⁴ These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven and a half years.

Then David reigned another thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ⁵ The sons born to David in Jerusalem included Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. Their mother was Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel. ⁶ David also had nine other sons: Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁷ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

⁹ These were the sons of David, not including his sons born to his concubines. Their sister was named Tamar.

Descendants of Solomon

¹⁰ The descendants of Solomon were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, ¹¹ Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, ¹² Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, ¹³ Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, ¹⁴ Amon, and Josiah.

¹⁵ The sons of Josiah were Johanan (the oldest), Jehoiakim (the second), Zedekiah (the third), and Jehoahaz (the fourth).

¹⁶ The successors of Jehoiakim were his son Jehoiachin and his brother Zedekiah.

Descendants of Jehoiachin

¹⁷ The sons of Jehoiachin, who was taken prisoner by the Babylonians, were Shealtiel, ¹⁸ Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

¹⁹ The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei.

The sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah. (Their sister was Shelomith.) ²⁰ His five other sons were Hashubah, Ohel, Berekiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed.

²¹ The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. Jeshaiah’s son was Rephaiah. Rephaiah’s son was Arnan. Arnan’s son was Obadiah. Obadiah’s son was Shecaniah.

²² The descendants of Shecaniah were Shemaiah and his sons, Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat—six in all.

²³ The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam—three in all.

²⁴ The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani—seven in all.

1 Chronicles 4

Other Descendants of Judah

The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

² Shobal’s son Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.

³ The descendants of Etam were Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, their sister Hazzelelponi, ⁴ Penuel (the father of Gedor), and Ezer (the father of Hushah). These were the descendants of Hur (the firstborn of Ephrathah), the ancestor of Bethlehem.

⁵ Ashhur (the father of Tekoa) had two wives, named Helah and Naarah. ⁶ Naarah gave birth to Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. ⁷ Helah gave birth to Zereth, Izhar, Ethnan, ⁸ and Koz, who became the ancestor of Anub, Zobebah, and all the families of Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹ There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. ¹⁰ He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

¹¹ Kelub (the brother of Shuhah) was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir-nahash. These were the descendants of Recah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai. ¹⁴ Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of the Valley of Craftsmen, so called because they were craftsmen.

¹⁵ The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz.

¹⁶ The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

¹⁷ The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives became the mother of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa). ¹⁸ He married a woman from Judah, who became the mother of Jered (the father of Gedor), Heber (the father of Soco), and Jekuthiel (the father of Zanoah). Mered also married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh, and she bore him children.

¹⁹ Hodiah’s wife was the sister of Naham. One of her sons was the father of Keilah the Garmite, and another was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

²⁰ The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.

The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.

Descendants of Judah’s Son Shelah

²¹ Shelah was one of Judah’s sons. The descendants of Shelah were Er (the father of Lecah); Laadah (the father of Mareshah); the families of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; ²² Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-lehem. These names all come from ancient records. ²³ They were the pottery makers who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They lived there and worked for the king.

Descendants of Simeon

²⁴ The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zohar, and Shaul.

²⁵ The descendants of Shaul were Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma.

²⁶ The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei.

²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had large families. So Simeon’s tribe never grew as large as the tribe of Judah.

²⁸ They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, ²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰ Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These towns were under their control until the time of King David. ³² Their descendants also lived in Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan—five towns ³³ and their surrounding villages as far away as Baalath. This was their territory, and these names are listed in their genealogical records.

³⁴ Other descendants of Simeon included Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, ³⁵ Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, ³⁶ Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷ and Ziza son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah.

³⁸ These were the names of some of the leaders of Simeon’s wealthy clans. Their families grew, ³⁹ and they traveled to the region of Gerar, in the east part of the valley, seeking pastureland for their flocks. ⁴⁰ They found lush pastures there, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful.

Some of Ham’s descendants had been living in that region. ⁴¹ But during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, these leaders of Simeon invaded the region and completely destroyed the homes of the descendants of Ham and of the Meunites. No trace of them remains today. They killed everyone who lived there and took the land for themselves, because they wanted its good pastureland for their flocks. ⁴² Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel—all sons of Ishi. ⁴³ They destroyed the few Amalekites who had survived, and they have lived there ever since.

1 Chronicles 5

Descendants of Reuben

The oldest son of Israel was Reuben. But since he dishonored his father by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines, his birthright was given to the sons of his brother Joseph. For this reason, Reuben is not listed in the genealogical records as the firstborn son. ² The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph.

³ The sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴ The descendants of Joel were Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei, ⁵ Micah, Reaiah, Baal, ⁶ and Beerah. Beerah was the leader of the Reubenites when they were taken into captivity by King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria.

⁷ Beerah’s relatives are listed in their genealogical records by their clans: Jeiel (the leader), Zechariah, ⁸ and Bela son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel.

The Reubenites lived in the area that stretches from Aroer to Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹ And since they had so many livestock in the land of Gilead, they spread east toward the edge of the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River.

¹⁰ During the reign of Saul, the Reubenites defeated the Hagrites in battle. Then they moved into the Hagrite settlements all along the eastern edge of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

¹¹ Next to the Reubenites, the descendants of Gad lived in the land of Bashan as far east as Salecah. ¹² Joel was the leader in the land of Bashan, and Shapham was second-in-command, followed by Janai and Shaphat.

¹³ Their relatives, the leaders of seven other clans, were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. ¹⁴ These were all descendants of Abihail son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the leader of their clans.

¹⁶ The Gadites lived in the land of Gilead, in Bashan and its villages, and throughout all the pasturelands of Sharon. ¹⁷ All of these were listed in the genealogical records during the days of King Jotham of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel.

The Tribes East of the Jordan

¹⁸ There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows. ¹⁹ They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites. ²⁰ They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him. So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated. ²¹ The plunder taken from the Hagrites included 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and goats, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 captives. ²² Many of the Hagrites were killed in the battle because God was fighting against them. The people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh lived in their land until they were taken into exile.

²³ The half-tribe of Manasseh was very large and spread through the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. ²⁴ These were the leaders of their clans: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. These men had a great reputation as mighty warriors and leaders of their clans.

²⁵ But these tribes were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They worshiped the gods of the nations that God had destroyed. ²⁶ So the God of Israel caused King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser) to invade the land and take away the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as captives. The Assyrians exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River, where they remain to this day.

Acts 7

Stephen Addresses the Council

Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”

² This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. ³ God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ ⁴ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.

⁵ “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. ⁶ God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ⁷ ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’

⁸ “God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

⁹ “These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.

¹¹ “But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food. ¹² Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some. ¹³ The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all. ¹⁵ So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. ¹⁶ Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.

¹⁷ “As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. ¹⁸ But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. ¹⁹ This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.

²⁰ “At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. ²¹ When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. ²² Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.

²³ “One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. ²⁴ He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. ²⁵ Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.

²⁶ “The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’

²⁷ “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. ²⁸ ‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ ²⁹ When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.

³⁰ “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him, ³² ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.

³³ “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. ³⁴ I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’

³⁵ “So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior. ³⁶ And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.

³⁷ “Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’ ³⁸ Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.

³⁹ “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. ⁴⁰ They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’ ⁴¹ So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. ⁴² Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written,

⁴⁴ “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. ⁴⁵ Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

⁴⁶ “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was Solomon who actually built it. ⁴⁸ However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

⁵¹ “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! ⁵² Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. ⁵³ You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

⁵⁴ The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ⁵⁶ And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

⁵⁷ Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him ⁵⁸ and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.