Paul's Visions and Revelations

2 Corinthians 12 I have to boast, even though it doesn't do any good. But I will now talk about visions and revelations given me by the Lord. ²I know a certain Christian man who fourteen years ago was snatched up to the highest heaven (I do not know whether this actually happened or whether he had a vision--only God knows). ^3-4I repeat, I know that this man was snatched to Paradise (again, I do not know whether this actually happened or whether it was a vision--only God knows), and there he heard things which cannot be put into words, things that human lips may not speak. ⁵So I will boast about this man--but I will not boast about myself, except the things that show how weak I am. ⁶If I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will not boast, because I do not want any of you to have a higher opinion of me than you have as a result of what you have seen me do and heard me say.
⁷But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud. ⁸Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. ⁹But his answer was: "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak." I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me. ¹⁰I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul's Concern for the Corinthians

¹¹I am acting like a fool--but you have made me do it. You are the ones who ought to show your approval of me. For even if I am nothing, I am in no way inferior to those very special "apostles" of yours. ¹²The many miracles and wonders that prove that I am an apostle were performed among you with much patience. ¹³How were you treated any worse than the other churches, except that I did not bother you for financial help? Please forgive me for being so unfair!
¹⁴This is now the third time that I am ready to come to visit you--and I will not make any demands on you. It is you I want, not your money. After all, children should not have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children. ¹⁵I will be glad to spend all I have, and myself as well, in order to help you. Will you love me less because I love you so much?
¹⁶You will agree, then, that I was not a burden to you. But someone will say that I was tricky, and trapped you with lies. ¹⁷How? Did I take advantage of you through any of the messengers I sent? ¹⁸I begged Titus to go, and I sent the other believer with him. Would you say that Titus took advantage of you? Do not he and I act from the very same motives and behave in the same way?
¹⁹Perhaps you think that all along we have been trying to defend ourselves before you. No! We speak as Christ would have us speak in the presence of God, and everything we do, dear friends, is done to help you. ²⁰I am afraid that when I get there I will find you different from what I would like you to be and you will find me different from what you would like me to be. I am afraid that I will find quarreling and jealousy, hot tempers and selfishness, insults and gossip, pride and disorder. ²¹I am afraid that the next time I come my God will humiliate me in your presence, and I shall weep over many who sinned in the past and have not repented of the immoral things they have done--their lust and their sexual sins.

The First Book of
CHRONICLES

From Adam to Abraham
(Genesis 5.1-32; 10.1-32; 11.10 -26)

1 Chronicles 1 Adam was the father of Seth, Seth was the father of Enosh, Enosh the father of Kenan, ²Kenan the father of Mahalalel, Mahalalel the father of Jared. ³Jared was the father of Enoch, who was the father of Methuselah; Methuselah was the father of Lamech, ⁴who was the father of Noah. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
⁵The sons of Japheth--Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras--were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names. ⁶The descendants of Gomer were the people of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁷The descendants of Javan were the people of Elishah, Spain, Cyprus, and Rhodes.
⁸The sons of Ham--Cush, Egypt, Libya, and Canaan--were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names. ⁹The descendants of Cush were the people of Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were the people of Sheba and Dedan. ( ¹⁰Cush had a son named Nimrod, who became the world's first great conqueror.) ¹¹The descendants of Egypt were the people of Lydia, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, ¹²Pathrus, Casluh, and of Crete (from whom the Philistines were descended). ¹³Canaan's sons--Sidon, the oldest, and Heth--were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names. ¹⁴Canaan was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, Girgashites, ¹⁵Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, ¹⁶Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
¹⁷Shem's sons--Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshek--were the ancestors of the peoples who bear their names. ¹⁸Arpachshad was the father of Shelah, who was the father of Eber. ¹⁹Eber had two sons; one was named Peleg, because during his time the people of the world were divided, and the other was named Joktan. ²⁰The descendants of Joktan were the people of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²¹Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²²Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, ²³Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab.
²⁴The family line from Shem to Abram is as follows: Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, ²⁵Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷and Abram (also known as Abraham).

The Descendants of Ishmael
(Genesis 25.12-16)

²⁸Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. ²⁹The sons of Ishmael became the heads of twelve tribes: Nebaioth (from the name of Ishmael's oldest son), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ³⁰Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, ³¹Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
³²Abraham had a concubine named Keturah, who bore him six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan had two sons: Sheba and Dedan. ³³Midian had five sons: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

The Descendants of Esau
(Genesis 36.1-19)

³⁴Abraham's son Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. ³⁵Esau's sons were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ³⁶Eliphaz became the ancestor of the following tribes: Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. ³⁷And Reuel became the ancestor of the tribes of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

The Original Inhabitants of Edom
(Genesis 36.20 -30)

^38-42The original inhabitants of Edom were descended from the following sons of Seir:
Lotan, who was the ancestor of the clans of Hori and Homam. (Lotan had a sister named Timna.)
Shobal, who was the ancestor of the clans of Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam.
Zibeon, who had two sons, Aiah and Anah. Anah was the father of Dishon, and Dishon was the ancestor of the clans of Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.
Ezer, who was the ancestor of the clans of Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan.
Dishan, who was the ancestor of the clans of Uz and Aran.

The Kings of Edom
(Genesis 36.31-43)

^43-50The following kings ruled the land of Edom one after the other, in the time before there were any kings in Israel:
Bela son of Beor from Dinhabah
Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah
Husham from the region of Teman
Hadad son of Bedad from Avith (he defeated the Midianites in a battle in the country of Moab)
Samlah from Masrekah
Shaul from Rehoboth-on-the-River
Baal Hanan son of Achbor
Hadad from Pau (his wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab)
⁵¹The people of Edom were divided into the following tribes: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁵²Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁵³Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁵⁴Magdiel, and Iram.

The Descendants of Judah

1 Chronicles 2 Jacob had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ²Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
³Judah had five sons in all. By his wife Bathshua, a Canaanite, he had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. His oldest son, Er, was so evil that the LORD killed him. ⁴By his daughter-in-law Tamar, Judah had two more sons, Perez and Zerah.
⁵Perez had two sons, Hezron and Hamul. ⁶His brother Zerah had five sons: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. ⁷Achan son of Carmi, one of Zerah's descendants, brought disaster on the people of Israel by keeping loot that had been devoted to God.
⁸Ethan had one son, Azariah.

The Family Tree of King David

⁹Hezron had three sons: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.
¹⁰The family line from Ram to Jesse is as follows: Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon (a prominent man of the tribe of Judah), ¹¹Salmon, Boaz, ¹²Obed, and Jesse.
¹³Jesse had seven sons. In order of age they were: Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, ¹⁴Nethanel, Raddai, ¹⁵Ozem, and David. ¹⁶He also had two daughters, Zeruiah and Abigail.
Jesse's daughter Zeruiah had three sons: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. ¹⁷His other daughter Abigail married Jether, a descendant of Ishmael, and they had a son named Amasa.

The Descendants of Hezron

¹⁸Hezron's son Caleb married Azubah and had a daughter named Jerioth. She had three sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹After the death of Azubah, Caleb married Ephrath, and they had a son named Hur. ²⁰Hur's son was Uri, and his grandson was Bezalel.
²¹When Hezron was sixty years old, he married Machir's daughter, the sister of Gilead. They had a son named Segub, ²²and Segub had a son named Jair. Jair ruled twenty-three cities in the territory of Gilead. ²³But the kingdoms of Geshur and Aram conquered sixty towns there, including the villages of Jair and Kenath, and the towns nearby. All the people who lived there were descendants of Machir, the father of Gilead. ²⁴After Hezron died, his son Caleb married Ephrath, his father's widow. They had a son named Ashhur, who founded the town of Tekoa.

The Descendants of Jerahmeel

²⁵Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, had five sons: Ram, the oldest, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. ^26-27Ram had three sons: Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. Jerahmeel had another wife, a woman named Atarah, and they had a son, Onam. ²⁸Onam had two sons, Shammai and Jada, and Shammai also had two sons, Nadab and Abishur.
²⁹Abishur married a woman named Abihail, and they had two sons, Ahban and Molid. ³⁰Abishur's brother Nadab had two sons, Seled and Appaim, but Seled died without having any sons. ³¹Appaim was the father of Ishi, Ishi was the father of Sheshan, and Sheshan the father of Ahlai.
³²Jada, the brother of Shammai, had two sons, Jether and Jonathan, but Jether died without having any sons. ³³Jonathan had two sons, Peleth and Zaza. All these were descendants of Jerahmeel.
³⁴Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. He had an Egyptian servant named Jarha, ³⁵to whom he gave one of his daughters in marriage. They had a son named Attai. ³⁶The family line from Attai to Elishama is as follows: Attai, Nathan, Zabad, ³⁷Ephlal, Obed, ³⁸Jehu, Azariah, ³⁹Helez, Eleasah, ⁴⁰Sismai, Shallum, ⁴¹Jekamiah, and Elishama.

Other Descendants of Caleb

⁴²The oldest son of Caleb, Jerahmeel's brother, was named Mesha. Mesha was the father of Ziph, who was the father of Mareshah, who was the father of Hebron. ⁴³Hebron had four sons: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴Shema was the father of Raham and the grandfather of Jorkeam. Rekem, Shema's brother, was the father of Shammai, ⁴⁵who was the father of Maon, who was the father of Bethzur.
⁴⁶Caleb had a concubine named Ephah, and by her he had three more sons: Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran also had a son named Gazez.
( ⁴⁷ A man named Jahdai had six sons: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.)
⁴⁸Caleb had another concubine, Maacah, who bore him two sons, Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹Later she had two more sons: Shaaph, who founded the town of Madmannah; and Shevah, who founded the towns of Machbenah and Gibea.
In addition, Caleb had a daughter named Achsah.
⁵⁰The following are also descendants of Caleb.
Hur was the oldest son of Caleb and his wife Ephrath. Hur's son Shobal founded Kiriath Jearim, ⁵¹his second son Salma founded Bethlehem, and his third son Hareph founded Bethgader.
⁵²Shobal, the founder of Kiriath Jearim, was the ancestor of the people of Haroeh, of half the inhabitants of Menuhoth, ⁵³and of the following clans that lived in Kiriath Jearim: the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. (The people of the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol were members of these clans.)
⁵⁴Salma, the founder of Bethlehem, was the ancestor of the people of Netophath, of Atroth Beth Joab, and of the Zorites, who were one of the two clans in Manahath.
( ⁵⁵ The following clans of experts in writing and copying documents lived in the town of Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. They were Kenites who had intermarried with the Rechabites.)

A Prayer of Habakkuk

Habakkuk 3 This is a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk:

²O LORD, I have heard of what you have done,
and I am filled with awe.
Now do again in our times
the great deeds you used to do.
Be merciful, even when you are angry.

³God is coming again from Edom;
the holy God is coming from the hills of Paran.
His splendor covers the heavens,
and the earth is full of his praise.
⁴He comes with the brightness of lightning;
light flashes from his hand,
there where his power is hidden.
⁵He sends disease before him
and commands death to follow him.
⁶When he stops, the earth shakes;
at his glance the nations tremble.
The eternal mountains are shattered;
the everlasting hills sink down,
the hills where he walked in ancient times.

⁷I saw the people of Cushan afraid
and the people of Midian tremble.
⁸Was it the rivers that made you angry, LORD?
Was it the sea that made you furious?
You rode upon the clouds;
the storm cloud was your chariot,
as you brought victory to your people.
⁹You got ready to use your bow,
ready to shoot your arrows.
Your lightning split open the earth.
¹⁰When the mountains saw you, they trembled;
water poured down from the skies.
The waters under the earth roared,
and their waves rose high.
¹¹At the flash of your speeding arrows
and the gleam of your shining spear,
the sun and the moon stood still.
¹²You marched across the earth in anger;
in fury you trampled the nations.
¹³You went out to save your people,
to save your chosen king.
You struck down the leader of the wicked
and completely destroyed his followers.
¹⁴Your arrows pierced the commander of his army
when it came like a storm to scatter us,
gloating like those who secretly oppress the poor.
¹⁵You trampled the sea with your horses,
and the mighty waters foamed.

¹⁶I hear all this, and I tremble;
my lips quiver with fear.
My body goes limp,
and my feet stumble beneath me.

I will quietly wait for the time to come
when God will punish those who attack us.

¹⁷Even though the fig trees have no fruit
and no grapes grow on the vines,
even though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no grain,
even though the sheep all die
and the cattle stalls are empty,
¹⁸I will still be joyful and glad,
because the LORD God is my savior.
¹⁹The Sovereign LORD gives me strength.
He makes me sure-footed as a deer
and keeps me safe on the mountains.