<p class="poetry">Your throne,<n id="1" /> O God, is permanent.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">The scepter<n id="3" /> of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> has broken the club of the wicked,p> <p class="poetry">the scepter of rulers.p>

&#8220;Do not allow the tribe of the families of the Kohathites to be cut off<n id="1" /> from among the Levites;

<p class="bodytext">Joshua told the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh:

The<n id="1" /> remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out.<n id="2" />

The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Their houses are safe<n id="1" /> and without fear;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and no rod of punishment<n id="3" /> from God is upon them.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Folly is bound up<n id="1" /> in the heart of a child,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but the rod of discipline<n id="3" /> will drive it far from him.p>

<p class="poetry">A rod and reproof<n id="1" /> impart<n id="2" /> wisdom,p> <p class="poetry">but a child who is unrestrained<n id="3" /> brings shame<n id="4" /> to his mother.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">a cudgel with which I angrily punish.<n id="2" />p>

Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.p>

<p class="bodytext">Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order<n id="1" /> and the tribe of Judah was selected.

<p class="bodytext">Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh<n id="1" /> by its clans.

The Israelites regretted what had happened to<n id="1" /> their brother Benjamin. They said, &#8220;Today we cut off an entire<n id="2" /> tribe from Israel!

<p class="bodytext">Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.

<p class="bodytext">Hoshea son of Azaziah led the Ephraimites,p> <p class="bodytext">Joel son of Pedaiah led the half-tribe of Manasseh,p>

<p class="poetry">Remember your people<n id="1" /> whom you acquired in ancient times,p> <p class="poetry">whom you rescued<n id="2" /> so they could be your very own nation,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!p>

<p class="poetry">He chose the tribe of Judah,p> <p class="poetry">and Mount Zion, which he loves.p>

<p class="poetry">The scepter will not depart from Judah,p> <p class="poetry">nor the ruler&#8217;s staff from between his feet,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">until he comes to whom it belongs;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the nations will obey him.<n id="3" />p>

The stones were for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, corresponding to the number of<n id="1" /> their names. Each name corresponding to one of the twelve tribes was like the engravings of a seal.p>