9 The names of all the people of Israel were listed in their family histories. Those family histories were put in the book The History of the Kings of Israel.

The People in Jerusalem

The people of Judah were made prisoners and forced to go to Babylon. They were taken to that place because they were not faithful to God. ²The first people to come back and live in their own lands and towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and servants that work in the temple.* ³These are the people from the family groups of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh that lived in Jerusalem: ⁴Uthai was Ammihud’s son. Ammihud was Omri’s son. Omri was Imri’s son. Imri was Bani’s son. Bani was a descendant* of Perez. Perez was Judah’s son. ⁵The Shilonite people that lived in Jerusalem were: Asaiah was the oldest son and Asaiah had sons. ⁶The Zerahite people that lived in Jerusalem were: Jeuel and their relatives. There were 690 of them in all. ⁷These are the people from the family group of Benjamin that lived in Jerusalem: Sallu was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Hodaviah’s son. Hodaviah was Hassenuah’s son. ⁸Ibneiah was Jeroham’s son. Elah was Uzzi’s son. Uzzi was Micri’s son. And Meshullam was Shephatiah’s son. Shephatiah was Reuel’s son. Reuel was Ibnijah’s son. ⁹The family history of Benjamin shows there were 956 of them living in Jerusalem. All these men were leaders in their families. ¹⁰These are the priests that lived in Jerusalem: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin, and ¹¹Azariah. Azariah was Hilkiah’s son. Hilkiah was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Zadok’s son. Zadok was Meraioth’s son. Meraioth was Ahitub’s son. Ahitub was the important official responsible for God’s temple.* ¹²Also there was Jeroham’s son, Adaiah. Jeroham was Pashhur’s son. Pashhur was Malkijah’s son. And there was Adiel’s son, Maasai. Adiel was Jahzerah’s son. Jahzerah was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Meshillemith’s son. Meshillemith was Immer’s son. ¹³There were 1,760 priests. They were leaders of their families. They were responsible for the work of serving in God’s temple.* ¹⁴These are the people from the family group of Levi that lived in Jerusalem: Hasshub’s son, Shemaiah. Hasshub was Azrikam’s son. Azrikam was Hashabiah’s son. Hashabiah was a descendant* of Merari. ¹⁵Also living in Jerusalem were Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah. Mattaniah was Mica’s son. Mica was Zicri’s son. Zicri was Asaph’s son. ¹⁶Obadiah was Shemaiah’s son. Shemaiah was Galal’s son. Galal was Jeduthun’s son. Berekiah was Asa’s son. Asa was Elkanah’s son. Berekiah lived in the small towns near the people of Netophah. ¹⁷These are the gatekeepers that lived in Jerusalem: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸Now these men stand next to the King’s Gate on the east side. They were the gatekeepers from the family group of Levi. ¹⁹Shallum was Kore’s son. Kore was Ebiasaph’s son. Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. Shallum and his brothers were gatekeepers. They were from the family of Korah. They had the job of guarding the gates to the Holy Tent.* They did this just like their ancestors* had done before them. Their ancestors had the job of guarding the entrance to the Holy Tent. ²⁰In the past, Phinehas was in charge of the gatekeepers. Phinehas was Eleazar’s son. The Lord was with Phinehas. ²¹Zechariah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Holy Tent. ²²In all there were 212 men that were chosen to guard the gates of the Holy Tent.* Their names were written in their family histories in their small towns. David and Samuel the seer* chose those men because they could be trusted. ²³The gatekeepers and their descendants* had the responsibility of guarding the gates of the Lord’s house, the Holy Tent. ²⁴There were gates on the four sides: east, west, north, and south. ²⁵The gatekeepers’ relatives that lived in the small towns had to come and help them at certain times. They came and helped the gatekeepers for seven days each time. ²⁶There were four gatekeepers that were the leaders of all the gatekeepers. They were Levite* men. They had the job of caring for the rooms and treasures in God’s temple.* ²⁷They stayed up all night guarding God’s temple. And they had the job of opening God’s temple every morning. ²⁸Some of the gatekeepers had the job of caring for the dishes used in the temple* services. They counted these dishes when they were brought in. They also counted these dishes when they were taken out. ²⁹Other gatekeepers were chosen to care for the furniture and those special dishes. They also took care of the flour, wine, oil, incense,* and special oil.* ³⁰But it was the priests that had the job of mixing the special oil. ³¹There was a Levite named Mattithiah that had the job of baking the bread used for the offerings. Mattithiah was Shallum’s oldest son. Shallum was from the Korah family. ³²Some of the gatekeepers that were in the Korah family had the job of preparing the bread put on the table every Sabbath.* ³³The Levites that were singers and leaders of their families stayed in the rooms at the temple.* They did not have to do other work because they were responsible for the work in the temple day and night. ³⁴All these Levites were leaders of their families. They were listed as leaders in their family histories. They lived in Jerusalem.

King Saul’s Family History

³⁵Jeiel was Gibeon’s father. Jeiel lived in the town of Gibeon. Jeiel’s wife was named Maacah. ³⁶Jeiel’s oldest son was Abdon. Other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸Mikloth was Shimeam’s father. Jeiel’s family lived near their relatives in Jerusalem. ³⁹Ner was Kish’s father. Kish was Saul’s father. And Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki Shua, Abinadab, and Esh Baal. ⁴⁰Jonathan’s son was Merib Baal. Merib Baal was Micah’s father. ⁴¹Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. ⁴²Ahaz was Jadah’s father. Jadah was Jarah’s father.* Jarah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri. Zimri was Moza’s father. ⁴³Moza was the father of Binea. Rephaiah was Binea’s son. Eleasah was Rephaiah’s son. And Azel was Eleasah’s son. ⁴⁴Azel had six sons. Their names were: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. Those were Azel’s children.

temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. descendants A person’s children and their future families. Holy Tent Also called the “tabernacle.” The people would go to this tent to meet with God. The people used this tent until Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. ancestors Literally, “fathers.” This means a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. seer This is another name for a prophet. See 1 Sam. 9:9–11. Levite A person from the tribe of Levi. The Levites helped the priests in the temple and also worked for the civil government. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. incense A kind of spice that smells good when it is burned. It was burned as a gift to God. special oil Or “perfume.” This might be the oil used to anoint priests, prophets, and kings. See Ex. 30:22–38. Sabbath Saturday. A special day of rest and worship for the Jews. Ahaz ... Jarah’s father Hebrew has only, “Ahaz was the father of Jarah.”

The Death of King Saul

10 The Philistine people fought against the people of Israel. The people of Israel ran away from the Philistines. Many Israelite people were killed on Mount Gilboa. ²The Philistines continued chasing Saul and his sons. They caught them and killed them. The Philistines killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki Shua. ³The fighting became heavy around Saul. The archers* shot Saul with their arrows and wounded him. ⁴Then Saul said to his armorbearer,* “Pull out your sword and use it to kill me. Then those foreigners* will not hurt me and make fun of me when they come.” But Saul’s armorbearer* was afraid. He refused to kill Saul. Then Saul used his own sword to kill himself. He fell on the point of his sword. ⁵The armorbearer saw that Saul was dead. Then he also killed himself. He fell on the point of his own sword and died. ⁶So Saul and three of his sons died. All of Saul’s family died together. ⁷All the people of Israel living in the valley saw that their own army had run away. They saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistine people came into the towns the people of Israel had left. And the Philistine people lived in those towns. ⁸The next day, the Philistine people came to take valuable things from the dead bodies. They found Saul’s body and the bodies of his sons on Mount Gilboa. ⁹The Philistines took things from Saul’s body. They took Saul’s head and armor. They sent messengers through all their country to tell the news to their false gods and to their people. ¹⁰The Philistines put Saul’s armor in the temple of their false gods. They hung Saul’s head in the temple of Dagon.* ¹¹All the people living in the town of Jabesh Gilead heard everything the Philistine people had done to Saul. ¹²All the brave men from Jabesh Gilead went to get the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them back to Jabesh Gilead. Those brave men buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the large tree in Jabesh. Then they showed their sadness and fasted for seven days. ¹³Saul died because he was not faithful to the Lord. Saul did not obey the Lord’s word. Saul also went to a medium* and asked her for advice ¹⁴instead of asking the Lord. That is why the Lord killed Saul and gave the kingdom to Jesse’s son David.

archers Soldiers that use bows and arrows in war. armorbearer A young man that carried a soldier’s weapons. foreigners Men from other countries that are not circumcised. This showed that those men did not share in the special agreement with God. Dagon The national god of the Philistine people. Its head, arms, and body looked like a person, and its lower body was like the tail of a fish. medium A person that lets a spirit take control of him and let him tell things that would happen in the future. See 1 Sam. 28:7-19.