1 Chronicles 5-6

Common English Bible

Lines of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh

5 The family of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son: he was actually the oldest, but when he dishonored his father’s bed his birthright^[a] was given to the family of Joseph, Israel’s son, so Reuben isn’t listed as the oldest in the records. ² Although Judah became the strongest among his brothers and a leader came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.

They lived in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹ They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰ In Saul’s days they waged war on the Hagrites, whom they defeated. So they lived in their tents throughout the entire region east of Gilead.

¹¹ Gad’s family lived opposite them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah: ¹² Joel was the first, Shapham the second, and Janai governed^[c] Bashan.

¹⁶ They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and as far as the boundaries of all the open lands of Sharon. ¹⁷ They were all listed in the records in the days of Judah’s King Jotham and Israel’s King Jeroboam. ¹⁸ The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh were warriors who carried shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for war—44,760 ready for military service. ¹⁹ When they waged war on the Hagrites (the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites), ²⁰ they received help against them. The Hagrites and all who were with them were handed over to them, because they cried out to God in battle. God granted their prayer because they trusted in him. ²¹ They seized their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep and goats, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 captives. ²² Many died, because God fought the battle. They lived there in place of the inhabitants until the exile.

²³ The members of half the tribe of Manasseh lived in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. They were very numerous.

²⁵ But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and faithlessly followed the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ As a result, Israel’s God stirred up the spirit of Assyria’s King Pul, otherwise known as Assyria’s King Tilgath-pilneser, who led the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River, where they remain to this day.

High priests

Levites

Levitical singers

³¹ David put the following in charge of the music in the Lord’s house after the chest was placed there. ³² They ministered with song before the dwelling of the meeting tent, until Solomon built the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. They carried out their usual duties. ³³ Those who served and their families were:

Priests from Aaron’s line

⁴⁹ Aaron and his sons sacrificed on the altar for entirely burned offerings and on the altar for incense, doing all the work of the holiest place, to make reconciliation for Israel, just as Moses, God’s servant, had commanded.

Levitical cities

⁵⁴ These are the places they lived by their camps within their territory. To Aaron’s family from the Kohathite clan, as chosen by lot, ⁵⁵ they gave Hebron in the land of Judah with its surrounding pasturelands. ⁵⁶ But the city’s fields and its settlements they gave to Caleb, Jephunneh’s son. ⁵⁷ To Aaron’s family they gave the refuge cities: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, ⁵⁸ Hilen^[h] with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, ⁵⁹ Ashan with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands,^[i] and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands. ⁶⁰ From Benjamin’s tribe: Gibeon with its pasturelands,^[j] Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. They had thirteen towns within their clan.

⁶¹ The remaining Kohathites were given ten towns by lot from the clan of half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁶² The Gershomites received by lot according to their clans thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan. ⁶³ The Merarites received by lot according to their clans twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁶⁴ In this way the Israelites gave the Levites the towns with their pasturelands. ⁶⁵ They gave these towns, which they designated by name, by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

⁶⁶ Some of the Kohathite clans had towns of their territory from the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷ They gave them refuge cities: Shechem with its pasturelands in the Ephraimite highlands, Gezer with its pasturelands, ⁶⁸ Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, ⁶⁹ Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands; ⁷⁰ and from half the tribe of Manasseh, Taanach^[k] with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the Kohathite clans who remained.

⁷¹ To the Gershomites from the clan of half the tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands; ⁷² from the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands and Daberath with its pasturelands, ⁷³ Ramoth with its pasturelands and Anem with its pasturelands; ⁷⁴ from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, and ⁷⁵ Helkath^[l] with its pasturelands and Rehob with its pasturelands; ⁷⁶ and from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. ⁷⁷ To the remaining Merarites from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasturelands,^[m] Rimmon^[n] with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands;^{[o] 78} on the other side of the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the desert with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, ⁷⁹ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; ⁸⁰ and from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ⁸¹ Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands.