Final Warnings and Greetings

2 Corinthians 13 This is now the third time that I am coming to visit you. "Any accusation must be upheld by the evidence of two or more witnesses"--as the scripture says. ²I want to tell those of you who have sinned in the past, and all the others; I said it before during my second visit to you, but I will say it again now that I am away: the next time I come nobody will escape punishment. ³You will have all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. When he deals with you, he is not weak; instead, he shows his power among you. ⁴For even though it was in weakness that he was put to death on the cross, it is by God's power that he lives. In union with him we also are weak; but in our relations with you we shall share God's power in his life.
⁵Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you?--unless you have completely failed. ⁶I trust you will know that we are not failures. ⁷We pray to God that you will do no wrong--not in order to show that we are a success, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to be failures. ⁸For we cannot do a thing against the truth, but only for it. ⁹We are glad when we are weak but you are strong. And so we also pray that you will become perfect. ¹⁰That is why I write this while I am away from you; it is so that when I arrive I will not have to deal harshly with you in using the authority that the Lord has given me--authority to build you up, not to tear you down.
¹¹And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
¹²Greet one another with the kiss of peace.
All of God's people send you their greetings.
¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

King David's Children

1 Chronicles 3 ^1-3The following, in order of age, are David's sons who were born while he was in Hebron:
Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel
Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel
Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur
Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith
Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital
Ithream, whose mother was Eglah
⁴All six were born in Hebron during the seven and a half years that David ruled there.
In Jerusalem he ruled as king for thirty-three years, ⁵and many sons were born to him there.
His wife Bathsheba, daughter of Ammiel, bore him four sons: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon.
⁶He had nine other sons: Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁷Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. ⁹In addition to all these sons, David had sons by his concubines. He also had a daughter, Tamar.

The Descendants of King Solomon

¹⁰This is the line of King Solomon's descendants from father to son: Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, ¹¹Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, ¹²Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, ¹³Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, ¹⁴Amon, and Josiah. ¹⁵Josiah had four sons: Johanan, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Joahaz. ¹⁶Jehoiakim had two sons: Jehoiachin and Zedekiah.

The Descendants of King Jehoiachin

¹⁷These are the descendants of King Jehoiachin, who was taken prisoner by the Babylonians. Jehoiachin had seven sons: Shealtiel, ¹⁸Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. ¹⁹Pedaiah had two sons, Zerubbabel and Shimei. Zerubbabel was the father of two sons, Meshullam and Hananiah, and one daughter, Shelomith. ²⁰He had five other sons: Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab Hesed.
²¹Hananiah had two sons, Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. Jeshaiah was the father of Rephaiah, who was the father of Arnan, the father of Obadiah, the father of Shecaniah. ²²Shecaniah had one son, Shemaiah, and five grandsons: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat. ²³Neariah had three sons: Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam. ²⁴Elioenai had seven sons: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani.

The Descendants of Judah

1 Chronicles 4 These are some of the descendants of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. ²Shobal was the father of Reaiah, who was the father of Jahath, the father of Ahumai and Lahad, the ancestors of the people who lived in Zorah.
^3-4Hur was the oldest son of his father Caleb's wife Ephrath, and his descendants founded the city of Bethlehem. Hur had three sons: Etam, Penuel, and Ezer. Etam had three sons: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, and one daughter, Hazzelelponi. Penuel founded the city of Gedor, and Ezer founded Hushah.
⁵Ashhur, who founded the town of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah. ⁶He and Naarah had four sons: Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. ⁷Ashhur and Helah had three sons: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
⁸Koz was the father of Anub and Zobebah, and the ancestor of the clans descended from Aharhel son of Harum.
⁹There was a man named Jabez, who was the most respected member of his family. His mother had given him the name Jabez, because his birth had been very painful. ¹⁰But Jabez prayed to the God of Israel, "Bless me, God, and give me much land. Be with me and keep me from anything evil that might cause me pain." And God gave him what he prayed for.

Other Family Lists

¹¹Caleb, the brother of Shuhah, had a son, Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton, ¹²who had three sons: Bethrapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the founder of the city of Nahash. The descendants of these men lived in Recah.
¹³Kenaz had two sons, Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel also had two sons, Hathath and Meonothai. ¹⁴Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.
Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of Handcraft Valley, where all the people were skilled workers.
¹⁵Caleb son of Jephunneh had three sons: Iru, Elah, and Naam. And Elah was the father of Kenaz.
¹⁶Jehallelel had four sons: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
^17-18Ezrah had four sons: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered married Bithiah, a daughter of the king of Egypt, and they had a daughter, Miriam, and two sons, Shammai and Ishbah. Ishbah founded the town of Eshtemoa. Mered also married a woman from the tribe of Judah, and they had three sons: Jered, who founded the town of Gedor; Heber, founder of the town of Soco; and Jekuthiel, founder of the town of Zanoah.
¹⁹Hodiah married the sister of Naham. Their descendants founded the clan of Garm, which lived in the town of Keilah, and the clan of Maacath, which lived in the town of Eshtemoa.
²⁰Shimon had four sons: Amnon, Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon.
Ishi had two sons: Zoheth and Benzoheth.

The Descendants of Shelah

²¹Shelah was one of Judah's sons. His descendants included Er, who founded the town of Lecah; Laadah, founder of the town of Mareshah; the clan of linen weavers, who lived in the town of Beth Ashbea; ²²Jokim and the people who lived in the town of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who married Moabite women and then settled in Bethlehem. (These traditions are very old.) ²³They were potters in the service of the king and lived in the towns of Netaim and Gederah.

The Descendants of Simeon

²⁴Simeon had five sons: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul. ²⁵Shaul's son was Shallum, his grandson was Mibsam, and his great-grandson was Mishma. ²⁶Then from Mishma the line descended through Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei. ²⁷Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his relatives had fewer children, and the tribe of Simeon did not grow as much as the tribe of Judah did.
²⁸Down to the time of King David the descendants of Simeon lived in the following towns: Beersheba, Moladah, Hazarshual, ²⁹Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹Beth Marcaboth, Hazarsusim, Bethbiri, and Shaaraim. ³²They also lived in five other places: Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, ³³and the surrounding villages, as far southwest as the town of Baalath. These are the records which they kept of their families and of the places where they lived.
^34-38The following men were the heads of their clans:
Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, Joel,
Jehu (the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel),
Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,
Ziza (the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, a descendant of Jedaiah, Shimri, and Shemaiah).
Because their families continued to grow, ³⁹they spread out westward almost to Gerar and pastured their sheep on the eastern side of the valley in which that city is located. ⁴⁰They found plenty of fertile pasture lands there in a stretch of open country that was quiet and peaceful. The people who had lived there before were Hamites.
⁴¹In the time of King Hezekiah of Judah, the men named above went to Gerar and destroyed the tents and huts of the people who lived there. They drove the people out and settled there permanently because there was plenty of pasture for their sheep. ⁴²Five hundred other members of the tribe of Simeon went east to Edom. They were led by the sons of Ishi: Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel. ⁴³There they killed the surviving Amalekites, and they have lived there ever since.

The Book of
ZEPHANIAH

Zephaniah 1 This is the message that the LORD gave to Zephaniah during the time that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. (Zephaniah was descended from King Hezekiah through Amariah, Gedaliah, and Cushi.)

The Day of the LORD's Judgment

²The LORD said, "I am going to destroy everything on earth, ³all human beings and animals, birds and fish. I will bring about the downfall of the wicked. I will destroy everyone, and no survivors will be left. I, the LORD, have spoken.
⁴"I will punish the people of Jerusalem and of all Judah. I will destroy the last trace of the worship of Baal there, and no one will even remember the pagan priests who serve him. ⁵I will destroy anyone who goes up on the roof and worships the sun, the moon, and the stars. I will also destroy those who worship me and swear loyalty to me, but then take oaths in the name of the god Molech. ⁶I will destroy those who have turned back and no longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them."
⁷The day is near when the LORD will sit in judgment; so be silent in his presence. The LORD is preparing to sacrifice his people and has invited enemies to plunder Judah. ⁸"On that day of slaughter," says the LORD, "I will punish the officials, the king's sons, and all who practice foreign customs. ⁹I will punish all who worship like pagans and who steal and kill in order to fill their master's house with loot.
¹⁰"On that day," says the LORD, "you will hear the sound of crying at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem. You will hear wailing in the newer part of the city and a great crashing sound in the hills. ¹¹Wail and cry when you hear this, you that live in the lower part of the city, because all the merchants will be dead!
¹²"At that time I will take a lamp and search Jerusalem. I will punish the people who are self-satisfied and confident, who say to themselves, 'The LORD never does anything, one way or the other.' ¹³Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed. They will never live in the houses they are building or drink wine from the vineyards they are planting."
¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near--very near and coming fast! That day will be bitter, for even the bravest soldiers will cry out in despair! ¹⁵It will be a day of fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a black and cloudy day, ¹⁶a day filled with the sound of war trumpets and the battle cry of soldiers attacking fortified cities and high towers.
¹⁷The LORD says, "I will bring such disasters on the human race that everyone will grope about like someone blind. They have sinned against me, and now their blood will be poured out like water, and their dead bodies will lie rotting on the ground."
¹⁸On the day when the LORD shows his fury, not even all their silver and gold will save them. The whole earth will be destroyed by the fire of his anger. He will put an end--a sudden end--to everyone who lives on earth.