1 Chronicles 23-27

New International Version

The Levites

23 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon^(A) king over Israel.^(B)

²He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. ³The Levites thirty years old or more^(C) were counted,^(D) and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.^(E) ⁴David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge^(F) of the work^(G) of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges.^(H) ⁵Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments^(I) I have provided for that purpose.”^(J)

⁶David separated^(K) the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi:^(L) Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Gershonites

⁷Belonging to the Gershonites:^(M)

Ladan and Shimei.

⁸The sons of Ladan:

Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.

⁹The sons of Shimei:

Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.

These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

¹⁰And the sons of Shimei:

Jahath, Ziza,^[a] Jeush and Beriah.

These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.

¹¹Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.

Kohathites

¹²The sons of Kohath:^(N)

Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.

¹³The sons of Amram:^(O)

Aaron and Moses.

Aaron was set apart,^(P) he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister^(Q) before him and to pronounce blessings^(R) in his name forever. ¹⁴The sons of Moses the man^(S) of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

¹⁵The sons of Moses:

Gershom and Eliezer.^(T)

¹⁶The descendants of Gershom:^(U)

Shubael was the first.

¹⁷The descendants of Eliezer:

Rehabiah^(V) was the first.

Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

¹⁸The sons of Izhar:

Shelomith^(W) was the first.

¹⁹The sons of Hebron:^(X)

Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁰The sons of Uzziel:

Micah the first and Ishiah the second.

Merarites

²¹The sons of Merari:^(Y)

Mahli and Mushi.^(Z)

The sons of Mahli:

Eleazar and Kish.

²²Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.^(AA)

²³The sons of Mushi:

Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more^(AB) who served in the temple of the Lord. ²⁵For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest^(AC) to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, ²⁶the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.”^(AD) ²⁷According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

²⁸The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification^(AE) of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. ²⁹They were in charge of the bread set out on the table,^(AF) the special flour for the grain offerings,^(AG) the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.^(AH) ³⁰They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening^(AI) ³¹and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon^(AJ) feasts and at the appointed festivals.^(AK) They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

³²And so the Levites^(AL) carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting,^(AM) for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.^(AN)

The Divisions of Priests

24 These were the divisions^(AO) of the descendants of Aaron:^(AP)

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.^(AQ) ²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did,^(AR) and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. ³With the help of Zadok^(AS) a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. ⁴A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. ⁵They divided them impartially by casting lots,^(AT) for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁶The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek^(AU) son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib,

the second to Jedaiah,^(AV)

⁸the third to Harim,^(AW)

the fourth to Seorim,

⁹the fifth to Malkijah,

the sixth to Mijamin,

¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz,

the eighth to Abijah,^(AX)

¹¹the ninth to Jeshua,

the tenth to Shekaniah,

¹²the eleventh to Eliashib,

the twelfth to Jakim,

¹³the thirteenth to Huppah,

the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah,

the sixteenth to Immer,^(AY)

¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir,^(AZ)

the eighteenth to Happizzez,

¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah,

the twentieth to Jehezkel,

¹⁷the twenty-first to Jakin,

the twenty-second to Gamul,

¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah

and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

²⁰As for the rest of the descendants of Levi:^(BA)

from the sons of Amram: Shubael;

from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

²¹As for Rehabiah,^(BB) from his sons:

Ishiah was the first.

²²From the Izharites: Shelomoth;

from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

²³The sons of Hebron:^(BC) Jeriah the first,^[b] Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴The son of Uzziel: Micah;

from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

²⁵The brother of Micah: Ishiah;

from the sons of Ishiah: Zechariah.

²⁶The sons of Merari:^(BD) Mahli and Mushi.

The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

²⁷The sons of Merari:

from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur and Ibri.

²⁸From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹From Kish: the son of Kish:

Jerahmeel.

³⁰And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.

These were the Levites, according to their families. ³¹They also cast lots,^(BE) just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

The Musicians

25 David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,^(BF) Heman^(BG) and Jeduthun^(BH) for the ministry of prophesying,^(BI) accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.^(BJ) Here is the list of the men^(BK) who performed this service:^(BL)

²From the sons of Asaph:

Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king’s supervision.

³As for Jeduthun, from his sons:^(BM)

Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,^[c] Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp^(BN) in thanking and praising the Lord.

⁴As for Heman, from his sons:

Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer; Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. ⁵(All these were sons of Heman the king’s seer. They were given him through the promises of God to exalt him. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.)

⁶All these men were under the supervision of their father^(BO) for the music of the temple of the Lord, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God.

Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman^(BP) were under the supervision of the king.^(BQ) ⁷Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord—they numbered 288. ⁸Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots^(BR) for their duties.

⁹The first lot, which was for Asaph,^(BS) fell to Joseph,
his sons and relatives^[d]	12^[e]
the second to Gedaliah,
him and his relatives and sons	12
¹⁰the third to Zakkur,
his sons and relatives	12
¹¹the fourth to Izri,^[f]
his sons and relatives	12
¹²the fifth to Nethaniah,
his sons and relatives	12
¹³the sixth to Bukkiah,
his sons and relatives	12
¹⁴the seventh to Jesarelah,^[g]
his sons and relatives	12
¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah,
his sons and relatives	12
¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah,
his sons and relatives	12
¹⁷the tenth to Shimei,
his sons and relatives	12
¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel,^[h]
his sons and relatives	12
¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁰the thirteenth to Shubael,
his sons and relatives	12
²¹the fourteenth to Mattithiah,
his sons and relatives	12
²²the fifteenth to Jerimoth,
his sons and relatives	12
²³the sixteenth to Hananiah,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁴the seventeenth to Joshbekashah,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁵the eighteenth to Hanani,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁶the nineteenth to Mallothi,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁷the twentieth to Eliathah,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁸the twenty-first to Hothir,
his sons and relatives	12
²⁹the twenty-second to Giddalti,
his sons and relatives	12
³⁰the twenty-third to Mahazioth,
his sons and relatives	12
³¹the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer,
his sons and relatives	12.^(BT)

The Gatekeepers

26 The divisions of the gatekeepers:^(BU)

From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

²Meshelemiah had sons:

Zechariah^(BV) the firstborn,

Jediael the second,

Zebadiah the third,

Jathniel the fourth,

³Elam the fifth,

Jehohanan the sixth

and Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴Obed-Edom also had sons:

Shemaiah the firstborn,

Jehozabad the second,

Joah the third,

Sakar the fourth,

Nethanel the fifth,

⁵Ammiel the sixth,

Issachar the seventh

and Peullethai the eighth.

(For God had blessed Obed-Edom.^(BW))

⁶Obed-Edom’s son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders in their father’s family because they were very capable men. ⁷The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad; his relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also able men. ⁸All these were descendants of Obed-Edom; they and their sons and their relatives were capable men with the strength to do the work—descendants of Obed-Edom, 62 in all.

⁹Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, who were able men—18 in all.

¹⁰Hosah the Merarite had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him the first),^(BX) ¹¹Hilkiah the second, Tabaliah the third and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and relatives of Hosah were 13 in all.

¹²These divisions of the gatekeepers, through their leaders, had duties for ministering^(BY) in the temple of the Lord, just as their relatives had. ¹³Lots^(BZ) were cast for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.

¹⁴The lot for the East Gate^(CA) fell to Shelemiah.^[i] Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah,^(CB) a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him. ¹⁵The lot for the South Gate fell to Obed-Edom,^(CC) and the lot for the storehouse fell to his sons. ¹⁶The lots for the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road fell to Shuppim and Hosah.

Guard was alongside of guard: ¹⁷There were six Levites a day on the east, four a day on the north, four a day on the south and two at a time at the storehouse. ¹⁸As for the court^[j] to the west, there were four at the road and two at the court^[k] itself.

¹⁹These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari.^(CD)

The Treasurers and Other Officials

²⁰Their fellow Levites^(CE) were^[l] in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the dedicated things.^(CF)

²¹The descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and who were heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite,^(CG) were Jehieli, ²²the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries^(CH) of the temple of the Lord.

²³From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites:^(CI)

²⁴Shubael,^(CJ) a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the official in charge of the treasuries. ²⁵His relatives through Eliezer: Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zikri his son and Shelomith^(CK) his son. ²⁶Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated^(CL) by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army commanders. ²⁷Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the Lord. ²⁸And everything dedicated by Samuel the seer^(CM) and by Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner and Joab son of Zeruiah, and all the other dedicated things were in the care of Shelomith and his relatives.

²⁹From the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were assigned duties away from the temple, as officials and judges^(CN) over Israel.

³⁰From the Hebronites: Hashabiah^(CO) and his relatives—seventeen hundred able men—were responsible in Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the Lord and for the king’s service. ³¹As for the Hebronites,^(CP) Jeriah was their chief according to the genealogical records of their families. In the fortieth^(CQ) year of David’s reign a search was made in the records, and capable men among the Hebronites were found at Jazer in Gilead. ³²Jeriah had twenty-seven hundred relatives, who were able men and heads of families, and King David put them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.

Army Divisions

27 This is the list of the Israelites—heads of families, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men.

²In charge of the first division, for the first month, was Jashobeam^(CR) son of Zabdiel. There were 24,000 men in his division. ³He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴In charge of the division for the second month was Dodai^(CS) the Ahohite; Mikloth was the leader of his division. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁵The third army commander, for the third month, was Benaiah^(CT) son of Jehoiada the priest. He was chief and there were 24,000 men in his division. ⁶This was the Benaiah who was a mighty warrior among the Thirty and was over the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

⁷The fourth, for the fourth month, was Asahel^(CU) the brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah was his successor. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁸The fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth^(CV) the Izrahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

⁹The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira^(CW) the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁰The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez^(CX) the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹¹The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbekai^(CY) the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹²The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer^(CZ) the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹³The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai^(DA) the Netophathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁴The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah^(DB) the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁵The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai^(DC) the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel.^(DD) There were 24,000 men in his division.

Leaders of the Tribes

¹⁶The leaders of the tribes of Israel:

over the Reubenites: Eliezer son of Zikri;

over the Simeonites: Shephatiah son of Maakah;

¹⁷over Levi: Hashabiah^(DE) son of Kemuel;

over Aaron: Zadok;^(DF)

¹⁸over Judah: Elihu, a brother of David;

over Issachar: Omri son of Michael;

¹⁹over Zebulun: Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;

over Naphtali: Jerimoth son of Azriel;

²⁰over the Ephraimites: Hoshea son of Azaziah;

over half the tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;

²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo son of Zechariah;

over Benjamin: Jaasiel son of Abner;

²²over Dan: Azarel son of Jeroham.

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less,^(DG) because the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars^(DH) in the sky. ²⁴Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. God’s wrath came on Israel on account of this numbering,^(DI) and the number was not entered in the book^[m] of the annals of King David.

The King’s Overseers

²⁵Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers.

²⁶Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the workers who farmed the land.

²⁷Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.

Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

²⁸Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig^(DJ) trees in the western foothills.

Joash was in charge of the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon.^(DK)

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz the Hagrite^(DL) was in charge of the flocks.

All these were the officials in charge of King David’s property.

³²Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king’s sons.

³³Ahithophel^(DM) was the king’s counselor.

Hushai^(DN) the Arkite was the king’s confidant. ³⁴Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.^(DO)

Joab^(DP) was the commander of the royal army.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 23:10 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also verse 11); most Hebrew manuscripts Zina
1 Chronicles 24:23 Two Hebrew manuscripts and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 23:19); most Hebrew manuscripts The sons of Jeriah:
1 Chronicles 25:3 One Hebrew manuscript and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also verse 17); most Hebrew manuscripts do not have Shimei.
1 Chronicles 25:9 See Septuagint; Hebrew does not have his sons and relatives.
1 Chronicles 25:9 See the total in verse 7; Hebrew does not have twelve.
1 Chronicles 25:11 A variant of Zeri
1 Chronicles 25:14 A variant of Asarelah
1 Chronicles 25:18 A variant of Uzziel
1 Chronicles 26:14 A variant of Meshelemiah
1 Chronicles 26:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
1 Chronicles 26:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
1 Chronicles 26:20 Septuagint; Hebrew As for the Levites, Ahijah was
1 Chronicles 27:24 Septuagint; Hebrew number