Descendants of Reuben

1 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (^cfor he was the firstborn, but because ^dhe defiled his father’s couch, ^ehis birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; 2 ^fthough Judah became strong among his brothers and a ^gchief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), 3 the ^hsons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 Beerah his son, whom ⁱTiglath-pileser¹ king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. 7 And his kinsmen by their clans, ^jwhen the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 and Bela the son of Azaz, son of ^kShema, son of Joel, who lived in ^lAroer, as far as ^mNebo and ⁿBaal-meon. 9 He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied ^oin the land of Gilead. 10 And in the days of Saul they waged war against the ^pHagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

11 The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as ^qSalecah: 12 Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 13 And their kinsmen according to their fathers’ houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. 14 These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers’ houses, 16 and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of ^rSharon to their limits. 17 All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of ^sJotham king of Judah, and in the days of ^tJeroboam king of Israel.

18 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, ^uexpert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. 19 They waged war against the ^vHagrites, ^wJetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 And when they prevailed² over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, ^xfor they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea ^ybecause they trusted in him. 21 They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. 22 For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived ^zin their place until ^athe exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

23 The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, ^bSenir, and Mount Hermon. 24 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher,³ Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers’ houses. 25 But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and ^cwhored ^dafter the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^ePul king of Assyria, the spirit of ^fTiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them ^gto Halah, ^gHabor, Hara, and ^gthe river Gozan, to this day.

Descendants of Levi

1 ^hThe sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 2 ⁱThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3 ^jThe children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. ^kThe sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4 ^lmEleazar fathered ⁿPhinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, 5 Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, 6 Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered ^oMeraioth, 7 Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 8 ^pAhitub fathered ^qZadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, 9 Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, 10 and Johanan fathered Azariah (^rit was he who served as priest ^sin the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). 11 ^lAzariah fathered ^tAmariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, 12 Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered ^uShallum, 13 Shallum fathered ^vHilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, 14 Azariah fathered ^wSeraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; 15 and ^xJehozadak went into exile when the Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile ^yby the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

16 ⁵ The ^zsons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. 17 And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: ^aLibni and Shimei. 18 ^bThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 19 ^cThe sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. 20 ^dOf Gershom: Libni his son, ^eJahath his son, Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. 22 ^fThe sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25 The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, 26 Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. 28 The sons of Samuel: Joel⁶ his firstborn, the second Abijah.⁷ 29 ^gThe sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

31 These are the men ^hwhom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord ⁱafter the ark rested there. 32 They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. 33 These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of ^jSamuel, 34 son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, 35 son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, 36 son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, 37 son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, 38 son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; 39 and his brother ^kAsaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, 40 son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, 41 son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, 42 son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, 43 son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. 44 On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, 45 son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, 46 son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, 47 son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. 48 And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

49 But Aaron and his sons made offerings ^lon the altar of burnt offering and on ^mthe altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and ⁿto make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50 ^oThese are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.

54 These are their dwelling places according to their ^psettlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the ^qclans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, 55 to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, 56 ^rbut the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57 ^sTo the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 58 Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 59 Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands; 60 and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon,⁸ Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen.

61 ^tTo the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. 62 To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan. 63 ^uTo the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 64 ^vSo the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands. 65 They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin ^wthese cities that are mentioned by name.

66 ^xAnd some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim. 67 They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 68 ^yJokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, 69 Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, 70 and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites.

71 ^zTo the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and ^aAshtaroth with its pasturelands; 72 and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 73 Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands; 74 out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 75 Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands; 76 and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. 77 ^bTo the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: ^cRimmono with its pasturelands, ^cTabor with its pasturelands, 78 and ^dbeyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, 79 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; 80 and out of the tribe of Gad: ^eRamoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, ^fMahanaim with its pasturelands, 81 ^gHeshbon with its pasturelands, and ^hJazer with its pasturelands.

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

1 For since the law has but ^va shadow ^wof the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, ^xit can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But ^yin these sacrifices ^zthere is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For ^ait is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, ^bwhen Christ¹ came into the world, he said,

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in ^csacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, ^d“Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will ^ewe have been sanctified through the offering of ^fthe body of Jesus Christ ^gonce for all.

11 And every priest stands ^hdaily at his service, ⁱoffering repeatedly the same sacrifices, ^jwhich can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ² had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he ^ksat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time ^luntil his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering ^mhe has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

17 then he adds,

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The Full Assurance of Faith

19 ^pTherefore, brothers,³ since we have confidence to enter ^qthe holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by ^rthe new and living way that he opened for us through ^sthe curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have ^ta great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts ^usprinkled clean ^vfrom an evil conscience and our bodies ^wwashed with pure water. 23 ^xLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^yhe who promised is faithful. 24 And ^zlet us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 ^anot neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ^ball the more as you see ^cthe Day drawing near.

26 For ^dif we go on sinning deliberately ^eafter receiving the knowledge of the truth, ^fthere no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 ^gbut a fearful expectation of judgment, and ^ha fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 ⁱAnyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy ^jon the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one ^kwho has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned ^lthe blood of the covenant ^mby which he was sanctified, and has ⁿoutraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, ^o“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, ^p“The Lord will judge his people.” 31 ^qIt is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But recall the former days when, after ^ryou were enlightened, you endured ^sa hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being ^tpublicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For ^uyou had compassion on those in prison, and ^vyou joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had ^wa better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has ^xa great reward. 36 For ^yyou have need of endurance, so that ^zwhen you have done the will of God you may ^areceive what is promised. 37 For,

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord

Praise the Name of the Lord

Sing to the Lord a New Song