LXX Concordance for ἕως

“You will eat bread[fn] by the sweat of your brow

until you return to the ground,

since you were taken from it.

For you are dust,

and you will return to dust.”

Then the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky ​— ​for I regret that I made them.”

He wiped out every living thing that was on the face of the earth, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.

The water continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible.

and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.

“Bring out all the living creatures that are with you ​— ​birds, livestock, those that crawl on the earth ​— ​and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

The Canaanite border went from Sidon going toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and going toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.

And they said, “Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let's make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been,

“for I will give you and your offspring[fn] forever all the land that you see.

and the Horites in the mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wilderness.

When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled[fn] his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan.

“that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.'

“In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”[fn]

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:

So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight? ”

Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.

They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness[fn] so that they were unable to find the entrance.

“Hurry up! Run to it, for I cannot do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.[fn]

The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab.[fn] He is the father of the Moabites of today.

A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”

So Laban said, “Please speak.”

And they[fn] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur.[fn] He[fn] stayed near[fn] all his relatives.

and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy.

He called it Sheba.[fn] Therefore the name of the city is still Beer-sheba[fn] today.

“and stay with him for a few days until your brother's anger subsides ​— ​

“Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

But they replied, “We can't until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well's opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now.

Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

That is why, still today, the Israelites don't eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob's hip socket at the thigh muscle.[fn]

He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother.

“Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent until they returned.

Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem.

Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel's grave still today.

At that time Judah left his brothers and settled near an Adullamite named Hirah.

“I will send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied.

But she said, “Only if you leave something with me until you send it.”

“Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies! ”

Since the men had heard that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph's arrival at noon.

“you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock[fn] from our youth until now.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”

and Joseph made the people servants[fn] from one end of Egypt to the other.

So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land does not belong to Pharaoh.

Then he blessed Joseph and said:

The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

“Zebulun will live by the seashore

and will be a harbor for ships,

and his territory will be next to Sidon.

He saw Ephraim's sons to the third generation; the sons of Manasseh's son Machir were recognized by[fn][fn] Joseph.

“Tell him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship[fn] me in the wilderness. But so far you have not listened.

“Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both people and animals. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may worship me.

“They will fill your houses, all your officials' houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians ​— ​something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh's presence.

“Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the LORD our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the LORD until we get there.”

“and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.

“But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl,[fn] so that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

“You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.

“You must not leave any of it until morning; any part of it left until morning you must burn.

“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the LORD; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.

“You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.

“You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day.

“Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.

“Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants.

Now at midnight the LORD struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.

“Consecrate every firstborn male to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.”

“When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.'

terror and dread will fall on them.

They will be as still[fn] as a stone

because of your powerful arm

until your people pass by, LORD,

until the people whom you purchased[fn] pass by.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you[fn] refuse to keep my commands and instructions?

The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.

When Moses's hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening.

Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers' iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

“If what was stolen ​— ​whether ox, donkey, or sheep ​— ​is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.

“You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of my festival offering must not remain until morning.

“I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,[fn] and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River.[fn] For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.

“Set it below, under the altar's ledge,[fn] so that the mesh comes halfway up[fn] the altar.

“In the tent of meeting outside the curtain that is in front of the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp from evening until morning before the LORD. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.

“Make them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist to the thighs.

“If any of the meat of ordination or any of the bread is left until morning, burn what is left over. It must not be eaten because it is holy.

Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand up, each one at the door of his tent, and they would watch Moses until he entered the tent.

But whenever Moses went before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,

He constructed for the altar a grate of bronze mesh under its ledge,[fn] halfway up from the bottom.

If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up.

“But what remains of the sacrificial meat by the third day must be burned.

“These will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

“These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

“If one of the animals that you use for food dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.

“But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the stricken person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see,

“Whoever enters the house during any of the days the priest quarantines it will be unclean until evening.

“Anyone who touches his bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“When a man has an emission of semen, he is to bathe himself completely with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“Everyone who touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“Everyone who touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“Every person, whether the native or the resident alien, who eats an animal that died a natural death or was mauled by wild beasts is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening; then he will be clean.

“It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.

“the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water.

“You are to count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.

“It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

“When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest. You will be eating this until the ninth year when its harvest comes in.

“But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in the possession of its purchaser until the Year of Jubilee. It is to be released at the Jubilee, so that he may return to his property.

“Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he may work for you until the Year of Jubilee.

“The one who purchased him is to calculate the time from the year he sold himself to him until the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years. It will be set for him like the daily wages of a hired worker.

“But if after these things you will not obey me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins.

“if the assessment concerns a male from twenty to sixty years old, your assessment is fifty silver shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel.

“If the person is from five to twenty years old, your assessment for a male is twenty shekels and for a female ten shekels.

“Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the LORD from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the LORD.

“because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the LORD.”

“men from thirty years old to fifty years old ​— ​everyone who is qualified[fn] to do work at the tent of meeting.

“Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting.

“Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting.

men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it.

“Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.”

“He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.

“For every firstborn among the Israelites is mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt.

“but for a whole month ​— ​until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you ​— ​because you have rejected the LORD who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt? ' ”

So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin[fn] as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath.[fn]

The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them?

“Please pardon the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love, just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

“How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites' complaints that they make against me.

Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.

“The firstborn of every living thing, human or animal, presented to the LORD belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem a human firstborn, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal.

“Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening.

“Then the one who gathers up the cow's ashes must wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the alien who resides among them.

“The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening.

“This is a permanent statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

Israel struck him with the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only up to the Ammonite border, because it was fortified.[fn]

Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken control of all his land as far as the Arnon.

For fire came out of Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon.

It consumed Ar of Moab,

the citizens of Arnon's heights.

We threw them down;

Heshbon has been destroyed as far as Dibon.

We caused desolation as far as Nophah,

which reaches as far as Medeba.

So they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left,[fn] and they took possession of his land.

But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you've ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before? ”

“No,” he replied.

and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both people and animals.

“You, the priest Eleazar, and the family heads of the community are to take a count of what was captured, people and animals.

They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth to the Acacia Meadow[fn] on the plains of Moab.

It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.

“Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills,[fn] the Negev and the sea coast ​— ​to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.

“We then set out from Horeb and went across all the great and terrible wilderness you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the LORD our God had commanded us. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,

“They left and went up into the hill country and came to Eshcol Valley, scouting the land.

“Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart,[fn] saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.'

“Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir as far as Hormah.

“The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley was thirty-eight years until the entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.

a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The LORD destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place.

“There was no city that was inaccessible to[fn] us, from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead. The LORD our God gave everything to us.

“So the LORD our God also handed over King Og of Bashan and his whole army to us. We struck him until there was no survivor left.

“At that time we took the land from the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon,

“all the cities of the plateau, Gilead, and Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of Og's kingdom in Bashan.

“Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took over the entire region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He called Bashan by his own name, Jair's Villages,[fn] as it is today.

“and I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the area extending from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.

“You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire into the heavens and enveloped in a totally black cloud.

“Indeed, ask about the earlier days that preceded you, from the day God created mankind[fn] on the earth and from one end of the heavens to the other: Has anything like this great event ever happened, or has anything like it been heard of?

“Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and drive out nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.

“I took the sinful calf you had made and burned it. I crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as fine as dust, and threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.

“At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the LORD's covenant, to stand before the LORD to serve him, and to pronounce blessings in his name, as it is today.

“what he did to Egypt's army, its horses and chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and he destroyed them completely;[fn]

“It is a land the LORD your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.

“Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River[fn] to the Mediterranean Sea.

“Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.

“any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other ​— ​

“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the LORD's assembly; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the LORD's assembly.

“The LORD will afflict you with painful and incurable boils on your knees and thighs ​— ​from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

“These curses will be a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever.

“Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.

“Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.

“When you reached this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.

“your dependents, your wives, and the resident aliens in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water ​— ​

“Even if your exiles are at the farthest horizon, he will gather you and bring you back from there.

“For fire has been kindled because of my anger

and burns to the depths of Sheol;

it devours the land and its produce,

and scorches the foundations of the mountains.

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan,

He buried him[fn] in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.

“Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River ​— ​all the land of the Hittites ​— ​and west to the Mediterranean Sea.

Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove[fn] with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing.

and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as[fn] Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah ​— ​the Dead Sea ​— ​was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho.

“you should tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the ark of the LORD's covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan's water was cut off.' Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle[fn] of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are still there today.

They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword ​— ​every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.

However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father's family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she still lives in Israel today.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; they all put dust on their heads.

and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains still today. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor[fn] still today.

Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained,

The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand ​— ​all the people of Ai.

Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today.

On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers ​— ​as they are today ​— ​for the community and for the LORD's altar at the place he would choose.

The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

After this, Joshua struck them down and executed them. He hung[fn] their bodies on five trees[fn] and they were there until evening.

At that time King Horam of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.

Joshua conquered everyone from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

The LORD handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down, pursuing them as far as greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the east as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors.

from Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.

The Israelites struck down the following kings of the land and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan to the east and from the Arnon River to Mount Hermon, including all the Arabah eastward:

He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all Bashan up to the Geshurite and Maacathite border, and half of Gilead to the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.

Joshua and the Israelites struck down the following kings of the land beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends toward Seir (Joshua gave their land as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their allotments:

“from the Shihor east of Egypt to the border of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory) ​— ​the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as the Avvites

From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, all the Medeba plateau as far as Dibon,

but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites and Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath still live in Israel today.

with Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau ​— ​Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,

this as their territory:

Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites to Aroer, near Rabbah;

Therefore, Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance today because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, completely.

Now the allotment for the tribe of the descendants of Judah by their clans was in the southernmost region, south to the Wilderness of Zin and over to the border of Edom.

It proceeded to Azmon and to the Brook of Egypt and so the border ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This is your[fn] southern border.

Ashdod, with its surrounding villages and settlements; Gaza, with its surrounding villages and settlements, to the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live in Jerusalem among the descendants of Judah today.

It then descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans:

The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar on the east to Upper Beth-horon.

However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites still live in Ephraim today, but they are forced laborers.

So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, gave you?

and all the settlements surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah in the south[fn]).

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon's descendants by their clans.

Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as greater Sidon.

Their boundary went from Heleph and from the oak in Zaanannim, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan.

“You have not deserted your brothers even once this whole time but have carried out the requirement of the command of the LORD your God.

“Wasn't the iniquity of Peor, which brought a plague on the LORD's community, enough for us? We have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day,

“Instead, be loyal to the LORD your God, as you have been to this day.

They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.

Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name still today.

These nations included the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.[fn]

Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.

Villages were deserted,[fn]

they were deserted in Israel,

until I,[fn] Deborah, arose,

a mother in Israel.

They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.

“Please do not leave this place until I return to you. Let me bring my gift and set it before you.”

And he said, “I will stay until you return.”

So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace.[fn] It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today.

When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend about a dream. He said, “Listen, I had a dream: a loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp, struck a tent, and it fell. The loaf turned the tent upside down so that it collapsed.”

When Gideon's men blew their three hundred rams' horns, the LORD caused the men in the whole army to turn on each other with their swords. They fled to Acacia House[fn] in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim with this message: “Come down to intercept the Midianites and take control of the watercourses ahead of them as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they took control of the watercourses as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Numerous bodies were strewn as far as the entrance of the city gate.

When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.

He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. They had thirty towns[fn] in Gilead, which are still called Jair's Villages[fn] today.

The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah's messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”

“But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.

“Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, ‘Please let us travel through your land to our country,'

“They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

He defeated twenty of their cities with a great slaughter from Aroer all the way to the entrance of Minnith and to Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

“He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.' ”

Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off.

So God split a hollow place in the ground at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived. That is why he named it Hakkore Spring,[fn] which is still in Lehi today.

When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited in ambush for him all that night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let's wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”

The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah's home in the hill country of Ephraim.

In those days, there was no king in Israel, and the Danite tribe was looking for territory to occupy. Up to that time no territory had been captured by them among the tribes of Israel.

They answered, “Come on, let's attack them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don't hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land!

They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why the place is still called the Camp of Dan[fn] today; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned the city.

The Danites set up the carved image for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses,[fn] and his sons were priests for the Danite tribe until the time of the exile from the land.

Then her husband got up and followed her to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had his servant with him and a pair of donkeys. So she brought him to her father's house, and when the girl's father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.

He got up early in the morning of the fifth day to leave, but the girl's father said to him, “Please keep up your strength.” So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate.

But his master replied to him, “We will not stop at a foreign city where there are no Israelites. Let's move on to Gibeah.”

He answered him, “We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I'm going to the house of the LORD.[fn] No one has taken me into his home,

Early that morning, the woman made her way back, and as it was getting light, she collapsed at the doorway of the man's house where her master was.

Everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or has been seen since the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until now.[fn] Think it over, discuss it, and speak up! ”

All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the LORD at Mizpah.

They went up, wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of him, “Should we again attack our brothers the Benjaminites? ”

And the LORD answered, “Fight against them.”

Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to Rimmon Rock, and Israel killed five thousand men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck two thousand more dead.

The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords ​— ​the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned all the cities that remained.

So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly,

Making a vow, she pleaded, “LORD of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant's affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”[fn]

“Don't think of me as a wicked woman; I've been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”

Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I'll take him to appear in the LORD's presence and to stay there permanently.”

“Therefore, this is the declaration of the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I did say that your family and your forefather's family would walk before me forever. But now,' this is the LORD's declaration, ‘no longer! For those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disgraced.

“I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are cursing God,[fn] and he has not stopped them.

All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the LORD.

That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon's threshold.

After they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.

The cows went straight up the road to Beth-shemesh. They stayed on that one highway, lowing as they went; they never strayed to the right or to the left. The Philistine rulers were walking behind them to the territory of Beth-shemesh.

The number of gold mice also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities of the five rulers, the fortified cities and the outlying villages. The large rock[fn] on which the ark of the LORD was placed is still in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh today.

Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

“They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me,[fn] since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods.

“As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes to the high place to eat. The people won't eat until he comes because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests can eat. Go up immediately ​— ​you can find him now.”

They got up early, and just before dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up, and I'll send you on your way! ” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside.

“You will proceed from there until you come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one bringing three goats, one bringing three loaves of bread, and one bringing a clay jar of wine.

“Afterward, go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what to do.”

The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions. During the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

“Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I'm old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now.

Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. It was at this time that the LORD would have permanently established your reign over Israel,

“If they say, ‘Wait until we reach you,' then we will stay where we are and not go up to them.

Saul and all the troops with him assembled and marched to the battle, and there the Philistines were, fighting against each other in great confusion!

and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had[fn] placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

Saul said, “Let's go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning. Don't let even one remain! ”

“Do whatever you want,” the troops replied.

But the priest said, “Let's approach God here.”

“Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.' ”

Saul came to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the wadi.

Then Saul struck down the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is next to Egypt.

“and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.'

Even to the day of his death, Samuel never saw Saul again. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted he had made Saul king over Israel.

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected for myself a king from his sons.”

Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have? ”

“There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he's tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won't sit down to eat until he gets here.”

The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.[fn] Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the large cistern at Secu and asked, “Where are Samuel and David? ”

“At Naioth in Ramah,” someone said.

So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I'm supposed to sit down and eat with the king. Instead, let me go, and I'll hide in the countryside for the next two nights.[fn]

“Deal kindly with[fn] your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I have done anything wrong, then kill me yourself; why take me to your father? ”

“don't ever withdraw your kindness from my household ​— ​not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth.”

“As for the matter you and I have spoken about, the LORD will be a witness[fn] between you and me forever.”

Jonathan answered, “David asked for my permission to go to Bethlehem.

He came to the location of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, but Jonathan called to him and said, “The arrow is beyond you, isn't it? ”

When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and paid homage three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.

From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God will do for me.”

He also struck down Nob, the city of the priests, with the sword ​— ​both men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.

“May God punish me[fn] and do so severely if I let any of his males[fn] survive until morning.”

“Otherwise, as surely as the LORD God of Israel lives, who prevented me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, Nabal wouldn't have had any males[fn] left by morning light.”

Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was in his house, holding a feast fit for a king. Nabal's heart was cheerful,[fn] and he was very drunk, so she didn't say anything[fn] to him until morning light.

That day Achish gave Ziklag to him, and it still belongs to the kings of Judah today.

David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites,[fn] and the Amalekites. From ancient times they had been the inhabitants of the region through Shur as far as the land of Egypt.

Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here? ”

Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time.[fn] From the day he defected until today, I've found no fault with him.”

So Achish summoned David and told him, “As the LORD lives, you are an honorable man. I think it is good[fn] to have you fighting[fn] in this unit with me, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until today. But the leaders don't think you are reliable.

“But what have I done? ” David replied to Achish. “From the first day I entered your service until today, what have you found against your servant to keep me from going to fight against the enemies of my lord the king? ”

They also had kidnapped the women and everyone[fn] in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.

David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep.

So David and the six hundred men with him went. They came to the Wadi Besor, where some stayed behind.

David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who got on camels and fled.

Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, and all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back.

When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them,

And it has been so from that day forward. David established this policy[fn] as a law and an ordinance for Israel and it still continues today.

“Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba ​— ​as numerous as the sand by the sea ​— ​be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle.

So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one who had not crossed the Jordan.

The girl was of unsurpassed beauty, and she became the king's caregiver. She attended to him, but he was not intimate with[fn] her.

The news reached Joab. Since he had supported Adonijah but not Absalom, Joab fled to the LORD's tabernacle and took hold of the horns of the altar.

“The responsibility for their deaths will come back to Joab and to his descendants[fn] forever, but for David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne, there will be peace from the LORD forever.”

However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that time a temple for the LORD's name had not been built.

Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;

Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;

He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the LORD his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.

“My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”

he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.

So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar that belongs to the inner sanctuary.

All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard.

He made the cast metal basin,[fn] 15 feet[fn] from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference.

Solomon and all Israel with him ​— ​a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath[fn] to the Brook of Egypt ​— ​observed the festival at that time in the presence of the LORD our God, seven days, and seven more days ​— ​fourteen days.[fn]

So he said, “What are these towns you've given me, my brother? ” So he called them the Land of Cabul,[fn] as they are still called today.

As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites ​— ​

“But I didn't believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard.

The king made the almug wood into steps for the LORD's temple and the king's palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before did such almug wood arrive, and the like has not been seen again.

Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

For Joab and all Israel had remained there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom.

Therefore, Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, where he remained until Solomon's death.

Rehoboam replied, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people left.

Israel is still in rebellion against the house of David today.

This led to sin; the people walked in procession before one of the calves all the way to Dan.[fn]

Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all Chinnereth, and the whole land of Naphtali.

When Baasha became king, he struck down the entire house of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any survivors but[fn] destroyed his family according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

“for this is what the LORD God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the surface of the land.' ”

After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.

Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions?[fn] If the LORD is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn't answer him a word.

So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us! ” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced[fn] around the altar they had made.

They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them.

In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So Ahab got in his chariot and went to Jezreel.

So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.' ”

“and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this guy in prison and feed him only a little bread and water[fn] until I come back safely.' ”

The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening, and blood from his wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.

and Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD is sending me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD is sending me to the Jordan.”

But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment, so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him.

Therefore, the water still remains healthy today according to the word that Elisha spoke.

They would destroy the cities, and each of them would throw a stone to cover every good piece of land. They would stop up every spring and cut down every good tree. This went on until only the buildings of Kir-hareseth were left. Then men with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.

When they were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.”

But he replied, “There aren't any more.” Then the oil stopped.

So he picked him up and took him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon and then died.

She summoned her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and come back again.”

Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

“Please let us go to the Jordan where we can each get a log and can build ourselves a place to live there.”

“Go,” he said.

So there was a severe famine in Samaria, and they continued the siege against it until a donkey's head sold for thirty-four ounces[fn] of silver, and a cup[fn] of dove's dung[fn] sold for two ounces[fn] of silver.

Now four men with a skin disease were at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why just sit here until we die?

When these diseased men came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they picked up the silver, gold, and clothing and went off and hid them. They came back and entered another tent, picked things up, and hid them.

So they followed them as far as the Jordan. They saw that the whole way was littered with clothes and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in their haste. The messengers returned and told the king.

When the king asked the woman, she told him the story. So the king appointed a court official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the income from the field from the day she left the country until now.”

Then he stared steadily at him until he was ashamed.

The man of God wept,

So Edom is still in rebellion against Judah's control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time.

So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace? ' ”

Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”

The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them but hasn't started back.”

Again the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn't started back. Also, the driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi ​— ​he drives like a madman.”

When Jehu came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained from the house of Ahab in Samaria until he had annihilated his house, according to the word of the LORD spoken to Elijah.

When he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Don't let anyone out.” So they struck them down with the sword. Then the guards and officers threw the bodies out and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.

and they tore down the pillar of Baal. Then they tore down the temple of Baal and made it a latrine ​— ​which it still is today.

Then the guards stood with their weapons in hand surrounding the king ​— ​from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.

Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot! ” So he shot. Then Elisha said, “The LORD's arrow of victory, yes, the arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”

The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to them, but now you will strike down Aram only three times.”

Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in Salt Valley. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is still its name today.

King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah's King Amaziah son of Joash,[fn] son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down two hundred yards[fn] of Jerusalem's wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.

He restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through his servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.

The LORD afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in quarantine,[fn] while Jotham, the king's son, was over the household governing the people of the land.

At that time Aram's King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.

The Israelites secretly did things[fn] against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.

So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence.

Finally, the LORD removed Israel from his presence just as he had declared through all his servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day.

They are still observing the former practices to this day. None of them fear the LORD or observe the statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments that the LORD had commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he had given the name Israel.

They feared the LORD but also served their idols. Still today, their children and grandchildren continue doing as their ancestors did.

He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.[fn]

He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.

“until I come and take you away to a land like your own land ​— ​a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey ​— ​so that you may live and not die. But don't listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The LORD will rescue us.”

They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning ​— ​there were all the dead bodies!

“‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the LORD.

“because they have done what is evil in my sight and have angered me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.' ”

Then the king went to the LORD's temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets ​— ​all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD's temple.

Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places from Geba to Beer-sheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the city gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate).

Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, for the king of Babylon took everything that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Because of the LORD's anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

The city was under siege until King Zedekiah's eleventh year.

Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David became king.

and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record for themselves.

They went to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley to seek pasture for their flocks.

These who were recorded by name came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, attacked the Hamites' tents and the Meunites who were found there, and set them apart for destruction, as they are today. Then they settled in their place because there was pasture for their flocks.

They struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they still live there today.

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

They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its surrounding villages, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.

Many of the Hagrites were killed because it was God's battle. And they lived there in the Hagrites' place until the exile.

So the God of Israel roused the spirit of King Pul (that is, Tiglath-pileser[fn]) of Assyria, and he took the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and Gozan's river, where they are until today.

They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the LORD's temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations given to them.

Their holdings and settlements were Bethel and its surrounding villages; Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages as far as Ayyah and its villages,

he was previously stationed at the King's Gate on the east side. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites.

He was more honored than the Three and became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.

These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month[fn] when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.

In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen ​— ​abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, herds, and flocks. Indeed, there was joy in Israel.

So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath,[fn] to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

When they came to Chidon's threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to hold the ark because the oxen had stumbled.

David was angry because of the LORD's outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah,[fn] as it is still named today.

So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.

Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever.”

As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping[fn] and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.

Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel

from everlasting to everlasting.”

Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.”

“From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have moved from one tent site to another, and from one tabernacle location to another.[fn]

“He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.

“I will appoint him over my house and my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.' ”

Then King David went in, sat in the LORD's presence, and said,

Who am I, LORD God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?

You made your people Israel your own people forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number.”

“He is the one who will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

Amram's sons: Aaron and Moses.

Aaron, along with his descendants, was set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense in the presence of the LORD, to minister to him, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he has come to stay in Jerusalem forever.

“I will establish his kingdom forever if he perseveres in keeping my commands and my ordinances as he is doing today.'

Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He won't leave you or abandon you until all the work for the service of the LORD's house is finished.

Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly. David said,

May you be blessed, LORD God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity.

The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place[fn] in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside; they are still there today.