1 Chronicles 21-25

New American Standard Bible 1995

Census Brings Pestilence

21 ^(A)Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. ² So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “^(B)Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.” ³ Joab said, “^(C)May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” ⁴ Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ Joab gave the number of the ^[a]census of all the people to David. And ^(D)all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. ^6 (E)But he did not ^[b]number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[c]command was abhorrent to Joab.

^7 [d]God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. ⁸ David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. ^(F)But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to ^(G)Gad, David’s ^(H)seer, saying, ¹⁰ “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I ^[e]offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” ¹¹ So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Take for yourself ^12 (I)either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” ¹³ David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(J)for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

^14 (K)So the Lord ^[f]sent a pestilence on Israel; 70,000 men of Israel fell. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and ^(L)was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of ^[g]Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, ^(M)covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ David said to God, “Is it not I who ^[h]commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, ^(N)but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

David’s Altar

^18 (O)Then the angel of the Lord ^[i]commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord. ²⁰ Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat. ²¹ As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and prostrated himself ^[j]before David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the ^[k]site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.” ²³ Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.” ²⁴ But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering ^[l]which costs me nothing.” ²⁵ So ^(P)David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the ^[m]site. ²⁶ Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord and ^(Q)He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷ The Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath.

²⁸ At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. ^29 (R)For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time. ³⁰ But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Prepares for Temple Building

22 Then David said, “^(S)This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

² So David ^[n]gave orders to gather ^(T)the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and ^(U)he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³ David ^(V)prepared large quantities of iron ^[o]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more ^(W)bronze than could be weighed; ⁴ and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for ^(X)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. ⁵ David said, “My son ^(Y)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Charged with the Task

⁶ Then ^(Z)he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “^(AA)My son, ^[p]I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘^(AB)You have shed much blood and have ^[q]waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. ⁹ Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and ^(AC)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for ^(AD)his name shall be ^[r]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ^10 (AE)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, ^(AF)the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. ^12 (AG)Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may ^(AH)keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (AI)Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. ^(AJ)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now behold, ^[s]with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord ^(AK)100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and ^(AL)bronze and iron beyond weight, for ^[t]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may ^(AM)the Lord be with you.”

^17 (AN)David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? And ^(AO)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹ Now ^(AP)set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, ^(AQ)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built ^(AR)for the name of the Lord.”

Solomon Reigns

23 ^(AS)Now when David ^[u]reached old age, ^(AT)he made his son Solomon king over Israel. ² And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.

Offices of the Levites

^3 (AU)The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and ^(AV)their number by ^[v]census of men was 38,000. ⁴ Of these, 24,000 were ^(AW)to oversee the work of the house of the Lord; and 6,000 were ^(AX)officers and judges, ⁵ and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and ^(AY)4,000 were praising the Lord with the instruments which ^[w]David made for giving praise. ⁶ David divided them into divisions ^(AZ)according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershonites

⁷ Of the Gershonites were ^[x]Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. ¹⁰ The sons of Shimei were Jahath, ^[y]Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one ^[z]class.

Kohathites

¹² The sons of Kohath were four: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. ^13 (BA)The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And ^(BB)Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, ^(BC)to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever. ¹⁴ But as for ^(BD)Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The ^[aa]son of Gershom was ^[ab]Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷ The ^[ac]son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ The ^[ad]son of Izhar was ^[ae]Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

Merarites

²¹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. ²³ The sons of Mushi were three: Mahli, Eder and Jeremoth.

Duties Revised

^24 (BE)These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were ^[af]counted, in the number of names by their ^[ag]census, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, ^(BF)from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵ For David said, “The Lord God of Israel ^(BG)has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ Also, ^(BH)the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.” ²⁷ For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. ²⁸ For their office is ^[ah]to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, ^29 (BI)and with the showbread, and ^(BJ)the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or ^(BK)what is baked in the pan or ^(BL)what is well-mixed, and ^(BM)all measures of volume and size. ³⁰ They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening, ³¹ and to offer all burnt offerings to the Lord, ^(BN)on the sabbaths, the new moons and ^(BO)the fixed festivals in the number set by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord. ³² Thus ^(BP)they are to keep charge of the tent of meeting, and charge of the holy place, and ^(BQ)charge of the sons of Aaron their ^[ai]relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.

Divisions of Levites

24 Now the divisions of the ^[aj]descendants of Aaron were these: ^(BR)the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ^2 (BS)But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no ^[ak]sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ³ David, with ^(BT)Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their offices ^[al]for their ministry. ⁴ Since more chief men were found from the ^[am]descendants of Eleazar than the ^[an]descendants of Ithamar, they divided them thus: there were sixteen heads of fathers’ households of the ^[ao]descendants of Eleazar and eight of the ^[ap]descendants of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ households. ^5 (BU)Thus they were divided by lot, the one as the other; for they were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God, both from the ^[aq]descendants of Eleazar and the ^[ar]descendants of Ithamar. ⁶ Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, from the Levites, recorded them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, ^(BV)Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one father’s household taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.

⁷ Now the first lot came out for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, ⁸ the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, ⁹ the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for ^(BW)Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third for Delaiah, the twenty-fourth for Maaziah. ^19 (BX)These were their offices for their ministry when they came in to the house of the Lord according to the ordinance given to them through Aaron their father, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

²⁰ Now for the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, ^[as]Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. ²¹ Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the first. ²² Of the Izharites, ^[at]Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. ²³ The sons ^(BY)of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴ Of the sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. ²⁵ The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ²⁶ The sons of Merari, Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Jaaziah, Beno. ²⁷ The sons of Merari: by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri. ²⁸ By Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹ By Kish: the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel. ³⁰ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ households. ^31 (BZ)These also cast lots just as their ^[au]relatives the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, ^(CA)Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites—the head of fathers’ households as well as those of his younger brother.

Number and Services of Musicians

25 Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of ^(CB)Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to ^(CC)prophesy with lyres, ^(CD)harps and cymbals; and the number of ^[av]those who performed their service was: ² Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and ^[aw]Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the ^[ax]direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the ^[ay]direction of the king. ^3 (CE)Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, ^[az]Zeri, Jeshaiah, ^[ba]Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six, under the ^[bb]direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the Lord. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, ^[bc]Uzziel, ^[bd]Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman ^(CF)the king’s seer to ^[be]exalt him according to the words of God, for God gave fourteen sons and three daughters to Heman. ⁶ All these were under the ^[bf]direction of their father to sing in the house of the Lord, ^(CG)with cymbals, harps and lyres, for the service of the house of God. ^(CH)Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the ^[bg]direction of the king. ⁷ Their number who were trained in singing to the Lord, with their ^[bh]relatives, all who were skillful, was ^(CI)288.

Divisions of Musicians

^8 (CJ)They cast lots for their duties, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the pupil.

⁹ Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, the second for Gedaliah, he with his relatives and sons were twelve; ¹⁰ the third to Zaccur, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹¹ the fourth to ^[bi]Izri, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹² the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹³ the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹⁴ the seventh to ^[bj]Jesharelah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹⁵ the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹⁶ the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹⁷ the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹⁸ the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ¹⁹ the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁰ for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²¹ for the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²² for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²³ for the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁴ for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁵ for the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁶ for the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁷ for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁸ for the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ²⁹ for the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ³⁰ for the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve; ³¹ for the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve.