1 Chronicles 17 — GNB

⁴ “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ⁵ From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now I have never lived in a temple; I have always lived in tents and moved from place to place. ⁶ In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’ ⁷ “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. ⁹ -10 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to defeat all your enemies and to give you descendants. ¹¹ When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. ¹² He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king. ¹⁴ I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.’” ¹⁵ Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord's presence, sat down, and prayed, “I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, Lord God, nor is my family. ¹⁷ Yet now you are doing even more; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come, and you, Lord God, are already treating me like someone great. ¹⁸ What more can I say to you! You know me well, and yet you honor me, your servant. ¹⁹ It was your will and purpose to do this for me and to show me my future greatness.

The List of the Levites

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ Lord, there is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God. ^* ²¹ There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them spread your fame throughout the world. You rescued your people from Egypt and drove out other nations as your people advanced. ²² You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. ²³ “And now, O Lord, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. ²⁴ Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time.

Administrators of the Royal Property

²⁵ I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, my God, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings. ²⁶ You, Lord, are God, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. ²⁷ I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Lord, have blessed them, and your blessing will rest on them forever.”

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again and defeated them. He took out of their control the city of Gath and its surrounding villages.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² He also defeated the Moabites, who became his subjects and paid taxes to him. ³ Next, David attacked King Hadadezer of the Syrian state of Zobah, near the territory of Hamath, because Hadadezer was trying to gain control of the territory by the upper Euphrates River.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry troops, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest. ⁵ When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men. ⁶ Then he set up military camps in their territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The Lord made David victorious everywhere. ⁷ David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officials and took them to Jerusalem. ⁸ He also took a great quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Kun, cities ruled by Hadadezer. (Solomon later used this bronze to make the tank, the columns, and the bronze utensils for the Temple.) ⁹ King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's entire army. ¹⁰ So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram brought David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹ King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he conquered—Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. ¹² Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, defeated the Edomites in Salt Valley and killed eighteen thousand of them. ¹³ He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became King David's subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere. ¹⁴ David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly. ¹⁵ Abishai's brother Joab was commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records;

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was court secretary; ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and King David's sons held high positions in his service.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ Some time later King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² King David said, “I must show loyal friendship to Hanun, as his father Nahash did to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy. When they arrived in Ammon and called on King Hanun, ³ the Ammonite leaders said to the king, “Do you think that it is in your father's honor that David has sent these men to express sympathy to you? Of course not! He has sent them here as spies to explore the land, so that he can conquer it!”

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ Hanun seized David's messengers, shaved off their beards, cut off their clothes at the hips, and sent them away. ⁵ They were too ashamed to return home. When David heard what had happened, he sent word for them to stay in Jericho and not return until their beards had grown again. ⁶ King Hanun and the Ammonites realized that they had made David their enemy, so they paid nearly forty tons of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Upper Mesopotamia and from the Syrian states of Maacah and Zobah. ⁷ The thirty-two thousand chariots they hired and the army of the king of Maacah came and camped near Medeba. The Ammonites too came out from all their cities and got ready to fight. ⁸ When David heard what was happening, he sent out Joab and the whole army. ⁹ The Ammonites marched out and took up their position at the entrance to Rabbah, their capital city, and the kings who had come to help took up their position in the open countryside. ¹⁰ Joab saw that the enemy troops would attack him in front and from the rear, so he chose the best of Israel's soldiers and put them in position facing the Syrians. ¹¹ He placed the rest of his troops under the command of his brother Abishai, who put them in position facing the Ammonites. ¹² Joab said to him, “If you see that the Syrians are defeating me, come and help me, and if the Ammonites are defeating you, I will go and help you. ¹³ Be strong and courageous! Let's fight hard for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord's will be done.” ¹⁴ Joab and his men advanced to attack, and the Syrians fled. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw the Syrians running away, they fled from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab went back to Jerusalem.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ The Syrians realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, so they brought troops from the Syrian states on the east side of the Euphrates River and placed them under the command of Shobach, commander of the army of King Hadadezer of Zobah. ¹⁷ When David heard of it, he gathered the Israelite troops, crossed the Jordan River, and put them in position facing the Syrians. The fighting began, ¹⁸ and the Israelites drove the Syrian army back. David and his men killed seven thousand Syrian chariot drivers and forty thousand foot soldiers. They also killed the Syrian commander, Shobach. ¹⁹ When the kings who were subject to Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects.

The List of the Levites

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ The Syrians were never again willing to help the Ammonites. ^*

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, Joab led out the army and invaded the land of Ammon; King David, however, stayed in Jerusalem. They besieged the city of Rabbah, attacked it, and destroyed it.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² The Ammonite idol Molech had a gold crown which weighed about seventy-five pounds. In it there was a jewel, which David took and put in his own crown. He also took a large amount of loot from the city. ³ He took the people of the city and put them to work with saws, iron hoes, and axes. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ Later on, war broke out again with the Philistines at Gezer. This was when Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Sippai, and the Philistines were defeated. ⁵ There was another battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath, whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom. ⁶ Another battle took place at Gath, where there was a giant with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was a descendant of the ancient giants. ⁷ He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shammah, killed him. ⁸ These three, who were killed by David and his men, were descendants of the giants at Gath.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of Israel, so he made David decide to take a census.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² David gave orders to Joab and the other officers, “Go through Israel, from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.” ³ Joab answered, “May the Lord make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now! Your Majesty, they are all your servants. Why do you want to do this and make the whole nation guilty?”

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ But the king made Joab obey the order. Joab went out, traveled through the whole country of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem. ⁵ He reported to King David the total number of men capable of military service: 1,100,000 in Israel and 470,000 in Judah. ⁶ Because Joab disapproved of the king's command, he did not take any census of the tribes of Levi and Benjamin. ⁷ God was displeased with what had been done, so he punished Israel. ⁸ David said to God, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.” ⁹ Then the Lord said to Gad, David's prophet, ¹⁰ “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.” ¹¹ Gad went to David, told him what the Lord had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? ¹² Three years of famine? Or three months of running away from the armies of your enemies? Or three days during which the Lord attacks you with his sword and sends an epidemic on your land, using his angel to bring death throughout Israel? What answer shall I give the Lord?” ¹³ David replied to Gad, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish me, because he is merciful.” ¹⁴ So the Lord sent an epidemic on the people of Israel, and seventy thousand of them died. ¹⁵ Then he sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but he changed his mind and said to the angel, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was standing by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ David saw the angel standing in midair, holding his sword in his hand, ready to destroy Jerusalem. Then David and the leaders of the people—all of whom were wearing sackcloth—bowed low, with their faces touching the ground. ¹⁷ David prayed, “O God, I am the one who did wrong. I am the one who ordered the census. What have these poor people done? Lord, my God, punish me and my family, and spare your people.” ¹⁸ The angel of the Lord told Gad to command David to go and build an altar to the Lord at Araunah's threshing place. ¹⁹ David obeyed the Lord's command and went, as Gad had told him to.

The List of the Levites

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ There at the threshing place Araunah and his four sons were threshing wheat, and when they saw the angel, the sons ran and hid. ^* ²¹ As soon as Araunah saw King David approaching, he left the threshing place and bowed low, with his face touching the ground. ²² David said to him, “Sell me your threshing place, so that I can build an altar to the Lord, to stop the epidemic. I'll give you the full price.” ²³ “Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and do whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar, and here are the threshing boards to use as fuel, and wheat to give as an offering. I give it all to you.” ²⁴ But the king answered, “No, I will pay you the full price. I will not give as an offering to the Lord something that belongs to you, something that costs me nothing.”

Administrators of the Royal Property

²⁵ And he paid Araunah six hundred gold coins for the threshing place. ²⁶ He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He prayed, and the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn the sacrifices on the altar. ²⁷ The Lord told the angel to put his sword away, and the angel obeyed. ²⁸ David saw by this that the Lord had answered his prayer, so he offered sacrifices on the altar at Araunah's threshing place.

Duties of Other Levites

²⁹ The Tent of the Lord's presence which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar on which sacrifices were burned were still at the place of worship at Gibeon at this time; ³⁰ but David was not able to go there to worship God, because he was afraid of the sword of the Lord's angel.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ So David said, “This is where the Temple of the Lord God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.”

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. ³ He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ He had the people of Tyre and Sidon bring him a large number of cedar logs. ⁵ David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died. ⁶ He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to him, “Son, I wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God. ⁸ But the Lord told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. ⁹ He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon, because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. ¹⁰ He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.’” ¹¹ David continued, “Now, son, may the Lord your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. ¹² And may the Lord your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. ¹³ If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid. ¹⁴ As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated almost four thousand tons of gold and nearly forty thousand tons of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. ¹⁵ You have many workers. There are stonecutters to work in the quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of skilled workers of every sort who can work

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.” ¹⁷ David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. ¹⁸ He said, “The Lord your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the Lord. ¹⁹ Now serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the Lord and all the other sacred objects used in worshiping him.”

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites. ³ He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was thirty-eight thousand.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ The king assigned twenty-four thousand to administer the work of the Temple, six thousand to keep records and decide disputes, ⁵ four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose. ⁶ David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ⁷ Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel, ⁹ who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.) ¹⁰ -11 Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan. ¹² Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹³ His oldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects forever, to burn incense in the worship of the Lord, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name. ¹⁴ But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.) ¹⁵ Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ The leader among Gershom's sons was Shebuel. ¹⁷ Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, but Rehabiah had many descendants. ¹⁸ Kohath's second son, Izhar, had a son, Shelomith, the head of the clan. ¹⁹ Kohath's third son, Hebron, had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.

The List of the Levites

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ Kohath's fourth son, Uzziel, had two sons, Micah and Isshiah. ^* ²¹ Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. Mahli also had two sons, Eleazar and Kish, ²² but Eleazar died without having any sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. ²³ Merari's second son, Mushi, had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. ²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, every one of them registered by name. Each of his descendants, twenty years of age or older, had a share in the work of the Lord's Temple.

Administrators of the Royal Property

²⁵ David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given peace to his people, and he himself will live in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ So there is no longer any need for the Levites to carry the Tent of the Lord's presence and all the equipment used in worship.” ²⁷ On the basis of David's final instructions all Levites were registered for service when they reached the age of twenty, ²⁸ and were assigned the following duties: to help the priests descended from Aaron with the Temple worship, to take care of its courtyards and its rooms, and to keep undefiled everything that is sacred;

Duties of Other Levites

²⁹ to be responsible for the bread offered to God, the flour used in offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the baked offerings, and the flour mixed with olive oil; to weigh and measure the Temple offerings; ³⁰ and to praise and glorify the Lord every morning and every evening ³¹ and whenever offerings to the Lord are burned on the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and other festivals. Rules were made specifying the number of Levites assigned to do this work each time. The Levites were assigned the duty of worshiping the Lord for all time.

David's Personal Advisers

³² They were given the responsibility of taking care of the Tent of the Lord's presence and the Temple, and of assisting their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, in the Temple worship.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ These are the groups to which the descendants of Aaron belong. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and left no descendants, so their brothers Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. ³ King David organized the descendants of Aaron into groups according to their duties. He was assisted in this by Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and by Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ The descendants of Eleazar were organized into sixteen groups, while the descendants of Ithamar were organized into eight; this was done because there were more male heads of families among the descendants of Eleazar. ⁵ Since there were Temple officials and spiritual leaders among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar, assignments were made by drawing lots. ⁶ The descendants of Eleazar and of Ithamar took turns drawing lots. Then they were registered by Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite secretary. The king, his officials, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of the priestly families and of the Levite families, were all witnesses. ⁷ -18 This is the order in which the twenty-four family groups were given their assignments: 1) Jehoiarib; 2) Jedaiah; 3) Harim; 4) Seorim; 5) Malchijah; 6) Mijamin; 7) Hakkoz; 8) Abijah; 9) Jeshua; 10) Shecaniah; 11) Eliashib; 12) Jakim; 13) Huppah; 14) Jeshebeab; 15) Bilgah; 16) Immer; 17) Hezir; 18) Happizzez; 19) Pethahiah; 20) Jehezkel; 21) Jachin; 22) Gamul; 23) Delaiah; 24) Maaziah. ¹⁹ These men were registered according to their assignments for going to the Temple and performing the duties established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the Lord God of Israel.

The List of the Levites

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ These are other heads of families descended from Levi: Jehdeiah, a descendant of Amram through Shebuel; ^* ²¹ Isshiah, a descendant of Rehabiah; ²² Jahath, a descendant of Izhar through Shelomith; ²³ Jeriah, Amariah, Jehaziel, and Jekameam, sons of Hebron, in order of age; ²⁴ Shamir, a descendant of Uzziel through Micah;

Administrators of the Royal Property

²⁵ Zechariah, a descendant of Uzziel through Isshiah, Micah's brother; ²⁶ Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah, descendants of Merari. ²⁷ Jaaziah had three sons: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸ -29 Mahli had two sons, Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar had no sons, but Kish had one son, Jerahmeel. ³⁰ Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. These are the families of the Levites. ³¹ The head of each family and one of his younger brothers drew lots for their assignments, just as their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, had done. King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites were witnesses.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ King David and the leaders of the Levites chose the following Levite clans to lead the worship services: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. They were to proclaim God's messages, accompanied by the music of harps and cymbals. This is the list of persons chosen to lead the worship, with the type of service that each group performed:

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² The four sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah. They were under the direction of Asaph, who proclaimed God's messages whenever the king commanded. ³ The six sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah. Under the direction of their father they proclaimed God's message, accompanied by the music of harps, and sang praise and thanks to the Lord.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ The fourteen sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ God gave to Heman, the king's prophet, these fourteen sons and also three daughters, as he had promised, in order to give power to Heman. ⁶ All of his sons played cymbals and harps under their father's direction, to accompany the Temple worship. And Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under orders from the king. ⁷ All these twenty-four men were experts; and their fellow Levites were trained musicians. There were 288 men in all. ⁸ To determine the assignment of duties they all drew lots, whether they were young or old, experts or beginners. ⁹ -31 These 288 men were divided according to families into twenty-four groups of twelve, with a leader in charge of each group. This is the order in which they were on duty: 1) Joseph of the family of Asaph; 2) Gedaliah; 3) Zaccur; 4) Zeri; 5) Nethaniah; 6) Bukkiah; 7) Asharelah; 8) Jeshaiah; 9) Mattaniah; 10) Shimei; 11) Uzziel; 12) Hashabiah; 13) Shebuel; 14) Mattithiah; 15) Jerimoth; 16) Hananiah; 17) Joshbekashah; 18) Hanani; 19) Mallothi; 20) Eliathah; 21) Hothir; 22) Giddalti; 23) Mahazioth; 24) Romamti Ezer.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ These are the assignments of work for the Levites who served as Temple guards. From the clan of Korah there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Asaph.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² He had seven sons, listed in order of age: Zechariah, Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel, ³ Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ There was also Obed Edom, whom God blessed by giving him eight sons, listed in order of age: Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sachar, Nethanel, ⁵ Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai. ⁶ -7 Obed Edom's oldest son, Shemaiah, had six sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu, and Semachiah. They were important men in their clan because of their great ability; the last two were especially talented. ⁸ Obed Edom's family furnished a total of sixty-two highly qualified men for this work. ⁹ Meshelemiah's family furnished eighteen qualified men. ¹⁰ From the clan of Merari there was Hosah, who had four sons: Shimri (his father made him the leader, even though he was not the oldest son), ¹¹ Hilkiah, Tebaliah, and Zechariah. In all there were thirteen members of Hosah's family who were Temple guards. ¹² The Temple guards were divided into groups, according to families, and they were assigned duties in the Temple, just as the other Levites were. ¹³ Each family, regardless of size, drew lots to see which gate it would be responsible for. ¹⁴ Shelemiah drew the east gate, and his son Zechariah, a man who always gave good advice, drew the north gate. ¹⁵ Obed Edom was allotted the south gate, and his sons were allotted to guard the storerooms.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

¹⁶ Shuppim and Hosah were allotted the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road. Guard duty was divided into assigned periods, one after another. ¹⁷ On the east, six guards were on duty each day, on the north, four, and on the south, four. Four guards were stationed at the storerooms daily, two at each storeroom. ¹⁸ Near the western pavilion there were four guards by the road and two at the pavilion itself. ¹⁹ This is the assignment of guard duty to the clan of Korah and the clan of Merari.

The List of the Levites

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ Others of their fellow Levites were in charge of the Temple treasury and the storerooms for gifts dedicated to God. ^* ²¹ Ladan, one of the sons of Gershon, was the ancestor of several family groups, including the family of his son Jehiel. ²² Ladan's two other sons, Zetham and Joel, had charge of the Temple treasury and storerooms. ²³ Duties were also assigned to the descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁴ Shebuel, of the clan of Moses' son Gershom, was the chief official responsible for the Temple treasury.

Administrators of the Royal Property

²⁵ Through Gershom's brother Eliezer he was related to Shelomith. Eliezer was the father of Rehabiah, who was the father of Jeshaiah, the father of Joram, the father of Zichri, the father of Shelomith. ²⁶ Shelomith and the members of his family were in charge of all the gifts dedicated to God by King David, the heads of families, leaders of clan groups, and army officers. ²⁷ They took some of the loot they captured in battle and dedicated it for use in the Temple. ²⁸ Shelomith and his family were in charge of everything that had been dedicated for use in the Temple, including the gifts brought by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, by Abner son of Ner, and by Joab son of Zeruiah.

Duties of Other Levites

²⁹ Among the descendants of Izhar, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned administrative duties: keeping records and settling disputes for the people of Israel. ³⁰ Among the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and seventeen hundred of his relatives, all outstanding men, were put in charge of the administration of all religious and civil matters in Israel west of the Jordan River. ³¹ Jeriah was the leader of the descendants of Hebron. In the fortieth year that David was king, an investigation was made of the family line of Hebron's descendants, and outstanding soldiers belonging to this family were found living at Jazer in the territory of Gilead.

David's Personal Advisers

³² King David chose twenty-seven hundred outstanding heads of families from Jeriah's relatives and put them in charge of administering all religious and civil matters in Israel east of the Jordan River—the territories of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

Nathan's Message to David

David's Military Victories

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians

David Captures Rabbah

David Takes a Census

The Work Assigned to the Priests

The Temple Musicians

The Temple Guards

Military and Civil Organization

¹ This is the list of the Israelite heads of families and clan leaders and their officials who administered the work of the kingdom. Each month of the year a different group of twenty-four thousand men was on duty under the commander for that month.

Preparations for Building the Temple

The Work of the Levites

² -15 The following were the commanders for each month:
First month: Jashobeam son of Zabdiel (he was a member of the clan of Perez, a part of the tribe of Judah)
Second month: Dodai, a descendant of Ahohi (Mikloth was his second in command)
Third month: Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest; he was the leader of “The Thirty” (his son Ammizabad succeeded him as commander of this group)
Fourth month: Asahel, brother of Joab (his son Zebadiah succeeded him)
Fifth month: Shamhuth, a descendant of Izhar
Sixth month: Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa
Seventh month: Helez, an Ephraimite from Pelon
Eighth month: Sibbecai from Hushah (he was a member of the clan of Zerah, a part of the tribe of Judah)
Ninth month: Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin
Tenth month: Maharai from Netophah (he was a member of the clan of Zerah)
Eleventh month: Benaiah from Pirathon in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim
Twelfth month: Heldai from Netophah (he was a descendant of Othniel)

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving