1 Chronicles 2 - 3, Revelation 3, Ecclesiastes 7

Generations of David

2^aThese are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,

²Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ³^aThe sons of Judah were Er, Onan, and Shelah; these three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of ¹Yahweh, so He put him to death. ⁴^aTamar his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all. ⁵The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ⁶The sons of Zerah were ¹Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and ²Dara; five of them in all. ⁷The ¹son of Carmi was ²^,^aAchar, the troubler of Israel, who violated what was devoted to destruction. ⁸The ¹son of Ethan was Azariah. ⁹Now the sons of Hezron, who were born to him were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai. ¹⁰Ram ¹became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, leader of the sons of Judah; ¹¹Nahshon became the father of Salma, Salma became the father of Boaz, ¹²Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed became the father of Jesse; ¹³and Jesse became the father of Eliab his firstborn, then Abinadab the second, ¹Shimea the third, ¹⁴Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, ¹⁵Ozem the sixth, David the seventh; ¹⁶and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were ¹Abshai, Joab, and Asahel. ¹⁷Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was ¹Jether the Ishmaelite. ¹⁸Now Caleb the son of Hezron became a father by Azubah his wife, and by Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹Then Azubah died, and Caleb took for himself Ephrath as a wife, and she bore him Hur. ²⁰Hur became the father of Uri, and Uri became the father of Bezalel. ²¹Afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he took as a wife when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub. ²²Segub became the father of Jair, and he had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead.

²³But Geshur and Aram took ¹Havvoth-jair from them, with Kenath and its villages, even sixty cities. All these were the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead.

²⁴After the death of Hezron in Caleb-ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s wife, bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa. ²⁵And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were Ram the firstborn, then Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. ²⁶Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. ²⁷The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. ²⁸The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. And the sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. ²⁹The name of Abishur’s wife was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid. ³⁰The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim, and Seled died without sons. ³¹The ¹son of Appaim was Ishi. And the ²son of Ishi was Sheshan. And the ³son of Sheshan was Ahlai. ³²The sons of Jada the brother of Shammai were Jether and Jonathan, and Jether died without sons. ³³The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. ³⁴Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian slave whose name was Jarha.

³⁵Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as a wife, and she bore him Attai.

³⁶Attai became the father of Nathan, and Nathan became the father of Zabad, ³⁷and Zabad became the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal became the father of Obed, ³⁸and Obed became the father of Jehu, and Jehu became the father of Azariah, ³⁹and Azariah became the father of Helez, and Helez became the father of Eleasah, ⁴⁰and Eleasah became the father of Sismai, and Sismai became the father of Shallum, ⁴¹and Shallum became the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah became the father of Elishama. ⁴²Now the sons of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, were Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph; and ¹his son was Mareshah, the father of Hebron. ⁴³The sons of Hebron were Korah and Tappuah and Rekem and Shema. ⁴⁴Shema became the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam; and Rekem became the father of Shammai. ⁴⁵The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Bethzur. ⁴⁶Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez; and Haran became the father of Gazez. ⁴⁷The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. ⁴⁸Maacah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah.

⁴⁹She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbena and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.

⁵⁰These were the sons of Caleb. The ¹sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, were Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim, ⁵¹Salma the father of Bethlehem and Hareph the father of Beth-gader. ⁵²Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim had sons: Haroeh, half of the Manahathites, ⁵³and the families of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; from these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. ⁵⁴The sons of Salma were Bethlehem and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites. ⁵⁵The families of scribes who lived at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. Those are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.

Sons of David

3^aNow these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second was Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess;

²the third was Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith; ³the fifth was Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth was Ithream, by his wife Eglah. ⁴Six were born to him in Hebron, and ^athere he reigned seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. ⁵^aThese were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and ^bSolomon, four, by ^cBath-shua the daughter of Ammiel; ⁶and Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, ⁷Nogah, Nepheg, and Japhia, ⁸Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. ⁹All these were the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines; and ^aTamar was their sister. ¹⁰Now Solomon’s son was Rehoboam, Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, ¹¹Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, ¹²Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, ¹³Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, ¹⁴Amon his son, Josiah his son. ¹⁵The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, and the second was Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. ¹⁶The sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son. ¹⁷The sons of Jeconiah, the prisoner, were Shealtiel his son, ¹⁸and Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. ¹⁹The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei. And the ¹sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister; ²⁰and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, five. ²¹The ¹sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shecaniah. ²²The sons of Shecaniah were Shemaiah, and the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six. ²³The ¹sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three. ²⁴The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven.

To the Church in Sardis

3“And to the angel of the church in ^aSardis write: This is what He who has ^bthe seven Spirits of God and ^cthe seven stars, says: ‘^dI know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, ¹but you are ^edead. ²‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God. ³‘So ^aremember ¹what you have received and heard; and keep it, and ^brepent. Therefore if you do not wake up, ^cI will come ^dlike a thief, and you will not know at ^ewhat hour I will come to you. ⁴‘But you have a few ¹^,^anames in ^bSardis who have not ^cdefiled their garments, and they will walk with Me ^din white, for they are worthy. ⁵‘^aHe who overcomes will thus be clothed in ^bwhite garments, and I will never ^cerase his name from the book of life, and ^dI will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ⁶‘^aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷“And to the angel of the church in ^aPhiladelphia write: ^bThis is what He who is holy, ^cwho is true, who has ^dthe key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says:

⁸‘^aI know your ¹deeds. Behold, I have given before you ^ban open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and ^chave not denied My name. ⁹‘Behold, I am giving up those of ^athe synagogue of Satan, those who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them ^bcome and bow down before your feet, and make them know that ^cI have loved you. ¹⁰‘Because you have ^akept the word of ^bMy perseverance, ^cI also will keep you from the hour of ¹^,^dtesting, which is about to come upon the whole ²^,^eworld, to ³test ^fthose who dwell on the earth. ¹¹‘^aI am coming quickly; ^bhold fast what you have, so that no one will take your ^ccrown. ¹²‘^aHe who overcomes, I will make him a ^bpillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out from it anymore. And I will write on him the ^cname of My God, and ^dthe name of the city of My God, ^ethe new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My ^fnew name. ¹³‘^aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“And to the angel of the church in ^aLaodicea write: ^bThis is what the Amen, ^cthe faithful and true Witness, ^dthe ¹Beginning of the creation of God, says:

¹⁵‘^aI know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. ^bI wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will ¹spit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷‘Because you say, “^aI am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked, ¹⁸I advise you to ^abuy from Me ^bgold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and ^cwhite garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that ^dthe shame of your nakedness will not be manifested; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ¹⁹‘^aThose whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and ^brepent. ²⁰‘Behold, I stand ^aat the door and ^bknock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, ^cI will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹‘^aHe who overcomes, I will grant to him ^bto sit down with Me on My throne, as ^cI also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ²²‘^aHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

7Better is a ^agood name than good oil,And better is the ^bday of one’s death than the day of one’s birth.²Better to go to a house of mourningThan to go to a house of feastingBecause ¹that is the ^aend of all mankind,And the living ^bputs this in his heart.³^aBetter is vexation than laughter,For ^bwhen a face is sad a heart may be merry.⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,While the heart of fools is in the house of gladness.⁵Better to ^alisten to the rebuke of a wise manThan for one to listen to the song of fools.⁶For as the crackling sound of ^athorn bushes under a pot,So is the ^blaughter of the fool;And this too is vanity.⁷For ^aoppression gives a wise man over to madness,And a ^bbribe ¹destroys the heart.⁸Better is the ^aend of a matter than its beginning;^bBetter is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.⁹Do not be ¹^,^aeager in your spirit to be vexed,For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.¹⁰Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.¹¹Wisdom along with an inheritance is goodAnd an ^aadvantage to those who see the sun.¹²For ^awisdom is a ^bshadow of protection as money is a shadow of protection,And the advantage of knowledge is that ^cwisdom preserves the lives of its masters.¹³See the ^awork of God,For who is ^bable to straighten what He has bent?¹⁴^aIn the day when there is good be of good cheer,But ^bin the day when there is evil see—God has made the one as well as the otherSo that man will ^cnot find out anything that will be after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything during my ^adays of vanity; there is ^ba righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is ^ca wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. ¹⁶Do not be excessively ^arighteous, and do not ^bbe overly wise. Why should you make yourself desolate? ¹⁷Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a simpleminded fool. Why should you ^adie before your time? ¹⁸It is good that you seize one thing and also not ¹let go of the other; for the one who ^afears God comes forth with ²both of them.

¹⁹^aWisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten men with power who are in a city. ²⁰Indeed, ^athere is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. ²¹Also, do not give your heart to all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your slave ^acursing you. ²²For your heart also knows that you likewise have many times cursed others.

²³I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” ^abut it was far from me. ²⁴What has been is far away and ^aexceedingly deep. ^bWho can find it? ²⁵I ^aturned my heart to know, to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the wickedness of foolishness and the simpleminded folly of madness. ²⁶And I found more ^abitter than death the woman whose heart is ^bsnares and nets, whose hands are chains. ^cOne who is good before God will escape from her, but ^dthe sinner will be captured by her.

²⁷“See, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, ²⁸which my soul still seeks but has not found. I have found one man out of a thousand, but I have not found a ^awoman among all these. ²⁹“See, I have found only this, that ^aGod made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”