1 ChroniclesChapter 5

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¹These were the sons of Reuben. Reuben was Israel's firstborn son. But he slept with one of his father's wives. So his rights as the firstborn son were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel. That is why Reuben is not listed as the firstborn. ²Judah became stronger than his brothers, and a ruler came from him. But the firstborn's rights belonged to Joseph. ³Reuben was Israel's firstborn son. Reuben's sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁴Joel's family line went to Shemaiah his son, then Gog, then Shimei, ⁵then Micah, then Reaiah, then Baal, ⁶and then Beerah. Each one was the son of the one before. Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria took Beerah away as a captive. Beerah was a leader of the people of Reuben. ⁷His relatives are listed by their clans in their family records. Jeiel was the chief. Then came Zechariah, ⁸and Bela son of Azaz. Azaz was the son of Shema, and Shema was the son of Joel. They lived in Aroer and in the land as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹They also lived to the east, as far as the edge of the desert. That desert stretches to the Euphrates River. They lived there because their herds had grown large in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰When Saul was king, they went to war against the Hagrites. They beat them. Then they took over the homes of the Hagrites in all the land east of Gilead. ¹¹The people of Gad lived next to the people of Reuben. They lived in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹²Joel was the chief. Shapham was second. Then came Jaanai and Shaphat. They lived in Bashan. ¹³Their relatives by families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. There were seven in all. ¹⁴These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri. Huri was the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz. ¹⁵Ahi son of Abdiel was the head of their family. Abdiel was the son of Guni. ¹⁶They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and in all the grasslands of Sharon. ¹⁷All of them were written in the family records. This was done when Jotham was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel. ¹⁸The people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 fighting men. They were brave men who carried shields and swords. They shot with bows. They were trained for battle. ¹⁹They went to war against the Hagrites. They also fought Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰They cried out to God during the battle. So they got help against their enemies. The Hagrites and all who fought with them were handed over to them. God answered their prayers because they trusted in him. ²¹They took the Hagrites' animals. They took 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys. They also took 100,000 people as captives. ²²Many others were killed, because the battle was God's. And they lived in that land until they were taken away into exile. ²³The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were many. They lived in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon. That is Senir, which is also called Mount Hermon. ²⁴These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were brave and mighty warriors. They were famous men and heads of their families. ²⁵But they were not faithful to the God of their fathers. They chased after the gods of the people of the land like a prostitute. Yet God had destroyed those people in front of them. ²⁶So the God of Israel stirred up the heart of Pul king of Assyria. Pul is the same as Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. God moved him to take the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh away into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan. They are still there to this day.