מַטֶּה

With him they sent ten chiefs—one family leader from each tribe of Israel, each the head of a family among the clans of Israel.

Jonathan, however, had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath. So he reached out the end of the staff in his hand, dipped it into the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.

“Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?”

He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

At that time Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.

And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.

To the rest of the Kohathites, ten cities were allotted from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The Gershomites, according to their clans, were allotted thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan.

The Merarites, according to their clans, were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

They assigned by lot the cities named above from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

And some of the clans of the Kohathites were given cities from the tribe of Ephraim for their territory:

And from the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of the clans of the Kohathites were given Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands.

The Gershomites received the following: From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands.

From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kedesh, Daberath,

From the tribe of Asher they were given Mashal, Abdon,

And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.

The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.

From the tribe of Reuben east of the Jordan opposite Jericho they were given Bezer in the wilderness, Jahzah,

And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim,

From the half-tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.

At that time Solomon assembled in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.

He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.

The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”

For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.

Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strikes you with a rod and lifts his staff against you as the Egyptians did.

And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.

The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.

Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But caraway is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.

And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished.

Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff!

Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.

When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.

Behold, the day is here! It has come! Doom has gone out, the rod has budded, arrogance has bloomed.

Their violence has grown into a rod to punish their wickedness. None of them will remain: none of their multitude, none of their wealth, and nothing of value.

“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,

It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick branches, conspicuous for its height and for its dense foliage.

But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them.

Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”

The voice of the LORD calls out to the city (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name): “Heed the rod and the One who ordained it.