¹The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron—four in all. ²The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred. ³The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men. ⁴And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers’ houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons. ⁵Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand in all. ⁶The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael—three in all. ⁷The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five in all. They were heads of their fathers’ houses, and they were listed by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor. ⁸The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these are the sons of Becher. ⁹And they were recorded by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor. ¹⁰The son of Jediael was Bilhan, and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers’ houses; there were seventeen thousand two hundred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle. ¹²Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, and Hushim was the son of Aher. ¹³The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. ¹⁴The descendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him Machir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel. ¹⁵Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s grandson was Zelophehad, but Zelophehad begot only daughters. ¹⁶(Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. ¹⁷The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. ¹⁸His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. ¹⁹And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. ²⁰The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, ²¹Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle. ²²Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. ²³And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house. ²⁴Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah; ²⁵and Rephah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, ²⁶Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, ²⁷Nun his son, and Joshua his son. ²⁸Now their possessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as Ayyah and its towns; ²⁹and by the borders of the children of Manasseh were Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph, the son of Israel. ³⁰The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. ³¹The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. ³²And Heber begot Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. ³³The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the children of Japhlet. ³⁴The sons of Shemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. ³⁵And the sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. ³⁶The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, ³⁷Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Jithran, and Beera. ³⁸The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. ³⁹The sons of Ulla were Arah, Haniel, and Rizia. ⁴⁰All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.

¹Now Benjamin begot Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third, ²Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³The sons of Bela were Addar, Gera, Abihud, ⁴Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶These are the sons of Ehud, who were the heads of the fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and who forced them to move to Manahath: ⁷Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera who forced them to move. He begot Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸And Shaharaim had children in the country of Moab, after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. ⁹By Hodesh his wife he begot Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰Jeuz, Sachiah, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of their fathers’ houses. ¹¹And by Hushim he begot Abitub and Elpaal. ¹²The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns; ¹³and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of their fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath. ¹⁴Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, ¹⁵Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶Michael, Ispah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. ¹⁷Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸Ishmerai, Jizliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. ¹⁹Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, ²⁰Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. ²²Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, ²⁴Hananiah, Elam, Antothijah, ²⁵Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. ²⁶Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸These were heads of the fathers’ houses by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem. ²⁹Now the father of Gibeon, whose wife’s name was Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon. ³⁰And his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, ³¹Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, ³²and Mikloth, who begot Shimeah. They also dwelt alongside their relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren. ³³Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. ³⁴The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah. ³⁵The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶And Ahaz begot Jehoaddah; Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza. ³⁷Moza begot Binea, Raphah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son. ³⁸Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor—archers. They had many sons and grandsons, one hundred and fifty in all. These were all sons of Benjamin.

¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ²For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. ³By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. ⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. ⁷By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. ⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ¹¹By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. ¹³These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. ¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. ²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. ²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. ²²By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. ²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. ²⁷By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. ²⁹By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. ³²And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: ³³who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. ³⁹And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

¹Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel: ²The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up. ³For thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.” ⁴For thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live; ⁵But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing. ⁶Seek the Lᴏʀᴅ and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel— ⁷You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!” ⁸He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The Lᴏʀᴅ is His name. ⁹He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress. ¹⁰They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. ¹¹Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them. ¹²For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate. ¹³Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. ¹⁴Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lᴏʀᴅ God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken. ¹⁵Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lᴏʀᴅ God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. ¹⁶Therefore the Lᴏʀᴅ God of hosts, the Lᴏʀᴅ, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing. ¹⁷In all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ¹⁸Woe to you who desire the day of the Lᴏʀᴅ! For what good is the day of the Lᴏʀᴅ to you? It will be darkness, and not light. ¹⁹It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! ²⁰Is not the day of the Lᴏʀᴅ darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? ²¹“I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. ²²Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. ²³Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. ²⁴But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. ²⁵“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? ²⁶You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves. ²⁷Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the Lᴏʀᴅ, whose name is the God of hosts.

¹Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, ²just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, ³it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. ⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. ⁸So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. ¹⁴And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” ¹⁸And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” ¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. ²⁰But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” ²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. ²²But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. ²³And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. ²⁴Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” ²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” ²⁹But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” ³⁴Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” ³⁵And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷For with God nothing will be impossible.” ³⁸Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. ³⁹Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” ⁴⁶And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. ⁴⁸For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. ⁵⁰And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. ⁵¹He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵²He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, ⁵⁵As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.” ⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. ⁵⁷Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.” ⁶¹But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called. ⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him. ⁶⁷Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ⁶⁸“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, ⁶⁹And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, ⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: ⁷⁴To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, ⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, ⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; ⁷⁹To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” ⁸⁰So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.