1 Chronicles 5

Easy-to-Read Version

Reuben’s Descendants

5 Reuben was Israel’s first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son. But he had sexual relations with his father’s wife. So those privileges were given to Joseph’s sons. In the family history, Reuben’s name is not listed as the first son. Judah became stronger than his brothers, so the leaders came from his family. But Joseph’s family got the other privileges that belong to the oldest son.

Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴These are the names of Joel’s descendants: Shemaiah was Joel’s son. Gog was Shemaiah’s son. Shimei was Gog’s son. ⁵Micah was Shimei’s son. Reaiah was Micah’s son. Baal was Reaiah’s son. ⁶Beerah was Baal’s son. King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria forced Beerah to leave his home. So Beerah became the king’s prisoner. Beerah was a leader of the tribe of Reuben.

⁷Joel’s brothers and all his tribes are listed just as they are written in the family histories: Jeiel was the first son, then Zechariah, ⁸and Bela. Bela was Azaz’s son. Azaz was Shema’s son. Shema was Joel’s son. They lived in the area of Aroer all the way to Nebo and Baal Meon. ⁹Bela’s people lived to the east as far as the edge of the desert, near the Euphrates River. They lived there because they had many cattle in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰When Saul was king, Bela’s people fought a war against the Hagrites. They defeated the Hagrites. Bela’s people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites. They lived in those tents and traveled throughout the area east of Gilead.

Gad’s Descendants

¹¹The people of Gad lived across the river from Reuben, in the area of Bashan. They spread all the way to the town of Salecah. ¹²Joel was the first leader in Bashan. Shapham was the second leader. Then Janai became the leader.^[a] ¹³The seven brothers in their families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber. ¹⁴They were the descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri’s son. Huri was Jaroah’s son. Jaroah was Gilead’s son. Gilead was Michael’s son. Michael was Jeshishai’s son. Jeshishai was Jahdo’s son. Jahdo was Buz’s son. ¹⁵Ahi was Abdiel’s son. Abdiel was Guni’s son. Ahi was the leader of their family.

¹⁶The people in the tribe of Gad lived in the area of Gilead. They lived in the area of Bashan, in the small towns around Bashan, and in all the pastures in the area of Sharon all the way to the borders.

¹⁷During the time of Jotham and Jeroboam, all these people’s names were written in the family history of Gad. Jotham was the king of Judah and Jeroboam was the king of Israel.

Some Soldiers Skilled in War

¹⁸From half the tribe of Manasseh and from the tribes of Reuben and Gad there were 44,760 brave men ready for war. They were skilled in war. They carried shields and swords. And they were also good with bows and arrows. ¹⁹They started a war against the Hagrites and the people of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰The men from the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad prayed to God during the war. They asked God to help them because they trusted him, so God helped them. He allowed them to defeat the Hagrites and those who were with the Hagrites. ²¹They took the animals that belonged to the Hagrites. They took 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2000 donkeys, and 100,000 people. ²²Many Hagrites were killed because God helped the people of Reuben win the war. Then the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad settled in the land of the Hagrites. They lived there until the time when the Israelites were taken into captivity.

²³Half the tribe of Manasseh lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. They became a very large group of people.

²⁴These were the family leaders from half the tribe of Manasseh: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were all strong, brave, and famous men, and they were leaders in their families. ²⁵But they sinned against the God their ancestors had worshiped. They began worshiping the false gods of the people God had destroyed, the people who had lived in the land before them.

²⁶The God of Israel made King Pul of Assyria want to go to war. He was also called Tiglath Pileser. He fought against the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad. He forced them to leave their homes and made them prisoners. Pul took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River. Those tribes from Israel have lived in those places since that time until today.