1 Chronicles 18-27

New Living Translation

David’s Military Victories

18 After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath and its surrounding towns. ² David also conquered the land of Moab, and the Moabites who were spared became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money.

³ David also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, as far as Hamath,^[a] when Hadadezer marched out to strengthen his control along the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He crippled all the chariot horses except enough for 100 chariots.

⁵ When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them. ⁶ Then he placed several army garrisons^[b] in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

⁷ David brought the gold shields of Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem, ⁸ along with a large amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s towns of Tebah^[c] and Cun. Later Solomon melted the bronze and molded it into the great bronze basin called the Sea, the pillars, and the various bronze articles used at the Temple.

⁹ When King Toi^[d] of Hamath heard that David had destroyed the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son Joram^[e] to congratulate King David for his successful campaign. Hadadezer and Toi had been enemies and were often at war. Joram presented David with many gifts of gold, silver, and bronze.

¹¹ King David dedicated all these gifts to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations—from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.

¹² Abishai son of Zeruiah destroyed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ He placed army garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. In fact, the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel and did what was just and right for all his people. ¹⁵ Joab son of Zeruiah was commander of the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. ¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech^[f] son of Abiathar were the priests. Seraiah^[g] was the court secretary. ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard.^[h] And David’s sons served as the king’s chief assistants.

David Defeats the Ammonites

19 Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun^[i] became king. ² David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun because his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent messengers to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death.

But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the land so they can come in and conquer it!” ⁴ So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved them, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.

⁵ When David heard what had happened to the men, he sent messengers to tell them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back.” For they felt deep shame because of their appearance.

⁶ When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 75,000 pounds^[j] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah. ⁷ They also hired 32,000 chariots and secured the support of the king of Maacah and his army. These forces camped at Medeba, where they were joined by the Ammonite troops that Hanun had recruited from his own towns. ⁸ When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them. ⁹ The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city, while the other kings positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.

¹⁰ When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. ¹¹ He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. ¹² “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. ¹³ Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”

¹⁴ When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. ¹⁵ And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they also ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel, so they sent messengers and summoned additional Aramean troops from the other side of the Euphrates River.^[k] These troops were under the command of Shobach,^[l] the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.

¹⁷ When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and positioned his troops in battle formation. Then David engaged the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. ¹⁸ But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army. ¹⁹ When Hadadezer’s allies saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to David and became his subjects. After that, the Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

David Captures Rabbah

20 In the spring of the year,^[m] when kings normally go out to war, Joab led the Israelite army in successful attacks against the land of the Ammonites. In the process he laid siege to the city of Rabbah, attacking and destroying it. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

² Then David went to Rabbah and removed the crown from the king’s head,^[n] and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and he found that it weighed seventy-five pounds.^[o] David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. ³ He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes.^[p] That is how David dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

Battles against Philistine Giants

⁴ After this, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph,^[q] a descendant of the giants,^[r] and so the Philistines were subdued.

⁵ During another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of Lahmi’s spear was as thick as a weaver’s beam!

⁶ In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants. ⁷ But when he defied and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimea.

⁸ These Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them.

David Takes a Census

21 Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. ² So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.”

³ But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the number of his people a hundred times over! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this? Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?”

⁴ But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem ⁵ and reported the number of people to David. There were 1,100,000 warriors in all Israel who could handle a sword, and 470,000 in Judah. ⁶ But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do.

Judgment for David’s Sin

⁷ God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it. ⁸ Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer. This was the message: ¹⁰ “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

¹¹ So Gad came to David and said, “These are the choices the Lord has given you. ¹² You may choose three years of famine, three months of destruction by the sword of your enemies, or three days of severe plague as the angel of the Lord brings devastation throughout the land of Israel. Decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”

¹³ “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 people died as a result. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel was preparing to destroy it, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Araunah^[s] the Jebusite.

¹⁶ David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground. ¹⁷ And David said to God, “I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸ Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him through Gad. ²⁰ Araunah, who was busy threshing wheat at the time, turned and saw the angel there. His four sons, who were with him, ran away and hid. ²¹ When Araunah saw David approaching, he left his threshing floor and bowed before David with his face to the ground.

²² David said to Araunah, “Let me buy this threshing floor from you at its full price. Then I will build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”

²³ “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you.”

²⁴ But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” ²⁵ So David gave Araunah 600 pieces of gold^[t] in payment for the threshing floor.

²⁶ David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And when David prayed, the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offering on the altar. ²⁷ Then the Lord spoke to the angel, who put the sword back into its sheath.

²⁸ When David saw that the Lord had answered his prayer, he offered sacrifices there at Araunah’s threshing floor. ²⁹ At that time the Tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering that Moses had made in the wilderness were located at the place of worship in Gibeon. ³⁰ But David was not able to go there to inquire of God, because he was terrified by the drawn sword of the angel of the Lord.

22 Then David said, “This will be the location for the Temple of the Lord God and the place of the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings!”

Preparations for the Temple

² So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God. ³ David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and he gave more bronze than could be weighed. ⁴ He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.

⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.

⁶ Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ “My son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God,” David told him. ⁸ “But the Lord said to me, ‘You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name. ⁹ But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon,^[u] and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. ¹⁰ He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

¹¹ “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the Lord your God. ¹² And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the Lord your God as you rule over Israel. ¹³ For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!

¹⁴ “I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the Lord—nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver,^[v] and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more. ¹⁵ You have a large number of skilled stonemasons and carpenters and craftsmen of every kind. ¹⁶ You have expert goldsmiths and silversmiths and workers of bronze and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you!”

¹⁷ Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon in this project. ¹⁸ “The Lord your God is with you,” he declared. “He has given you peace with the surrounding nations. He has handed them over to me, and they are now subject to the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Now seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the Lord God so that you can bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the Lord’s name.”

Duties of the Levites

23 When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel. ² David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. ³ All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000. ⁴ Then David said, “From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the Lord. Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges. ⁵ Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have made.” ⁶ Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

⁷ The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni^[w] and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. ⁸ Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. ⁹ These were the leaders of the family of Libni.

Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. ¹⁰ Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza,^[x] Jeush, and Beriah. ¹¹ Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.

The Kohathites

¹² Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹³ The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, to serve the Lord, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

¹⁸ The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader.

¹⁹ The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).

²⁰ The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).

The Merarites

²¹ The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.

²³ Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the Lord. ²⁵ For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place.” ²⁷ In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service.

²⁸ The work of the Levites was to assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the house of the Lord. They also took care of the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in many other ways in the house of God. ²⁹ They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures. ³⁰ And each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing songs of thanks and praise to him. ³¹ They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the Lord on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the Lord’s presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given.

³² And so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple^[y] and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the Lord.

Duties of the Priests

24 This is how Aaron’s descendants, the priests, were divided into groups for service. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons. So only Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry on as priests.

³ With the help of Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and of Ahimelech, who was a descendant of Ithamar, David divided Aaron’s descendants into groups according to their various duties. ⁴ Eleazar’s descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar’s into eight, for there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar.

⁵ All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶ Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, acted as secretary and wrote down the names and assignments in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar took turns casting lots.

¹⁹ Each group carried out its appointed duties in the house of the Lord according to the procedures established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Family Leaders among the Levites

²⁰ These were the other family leaders descended from Levi:

These were the descendants of Levi in their various families. ³¹ Like the descendants of Aaron, they were assigned to their duties by means of sacred lots, without regard to age or rank. Lots were drawn in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the family leaders of the priests and the Levites.

Duties of the Musicians

25 David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. Here is a list of their names and their work:

² From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s orders.

³ From the sons of Jeduthun, there were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,^[ac] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God’s messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the Lord.

⁴ From the sons of Heman, there were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael,^[ad] Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶ All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. ⁷ They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them—288 in all—was an accomplished musician. ⁸ The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student.

Duties of the Gatekeepers

26 These are the divisions of the gatekeepers:

From the Korahites, there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Abiasaph.^{[ak] 2} The sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah (the oldest), Jediael (the second), Zebadiah (the third), Jathniel (the fourth), ³ Elam (the fifth), Jehohanan (the sixth), and Eliehoenai (the seventh).

⁴ The sons of Obed-edom, also gatekeepers, were Shemaiah (the oldest), Jehozabad (the second), Joah (the third), Sacar (the fourth), Nethanel (the fifth), ⁵ Ammiel (the sixth), Issachar (the seventh), and Peullethai (the eighth). God had richly blessed Obed-edom.

⁹ Meshelemiah’s eighteen sons and relatives were also very capable men.

¹⁰ Hosah, of the Merari clan, appointed Shimri as the leader among his sons, though he was not the oldest. ¹¹ His other sons included Hilkiah (the second), Tebaliah (the third), and Zechariah (the fourth). Hosah’s sons and relatives, who served as gatekeepers, numbered thirteen in all.

¹² These divisions of the gatekeepers were named for their family leaders, and like the other Levites, they served at the house of the Lord. ¹³ They were assigned by families for guard duty at the various gates, without regard to age or training, for it was all decided by means of sacred lots.

¹⁴ The responsibility for the east gate went to Meshelemiah^[al] and his group. The north gate was assigned to his son Zechariah, a man of unusual wisdom. ¹⁵ The south gate went to Obed-edom, and his sons were put in charge of the storehouse. ¹⁶ Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate and the gateway leading up to the Temple.^[am] Guard duties were divided evenly. ¹⁷ Six Levites were assigned each day to the east gate, four to the north gate, four to the south gate, and two pairs at the storehouse. ¹⁸ Six were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the gateway leading up to the Temple, and two to the courtyard.^[an]

¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the clans of Korah and Merari.

Treasurers and Other Officials

²⁰ Other Levites, led by Ahijah, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ²¹ From the family of Libni^[ao] in the clan of Gershon, Jehiel^[ap] was the leader. ²² The sons of Jehiel, Zetham and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

²³ These are the leaders that descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel:

²⁴ From the clan of Amram, Shebuel was a descendant of Gershom son of Moses. He was the chief officer of the treasuries. ²⁵ His relatives through Eliezer were Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zicri, and Shelomoth.

²⁹ From the clan of Izhar came Kenaniah. He and his sons were given administrative responsibilities^[as] over Israel as officials and judges.

³⁰ From the clan of Hebron came Hashabiah. He and his relatives—1,700 capable men—were put in charge of the Israelite lands west of the Jordan River. They were responsible for all matters related to the things of the Lord and the service of the king in that area.

Military Commanders and Divisions

27 This is the list of Israelite generals and captains,^[au] and their officers, who served the king by supervising the army divisions that were on duty each month of the year. Each division served for one month and had 24,000 troops.

² Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was commander of the first division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the first month. ³ He was a descendant of Perez and was in charge of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴ Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah, was commander of the second division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the second month. Mikloth was his chief officer.

⁵ Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest was commander of the third division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the third month. ⁶ This was the Benaiah who commanded David’s elite military group known as the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was his chief officer.

⁷ Asahel, the brother of Joab, was commander of the fourth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fourth month. Asahel was succeeded by his son Zebadiah.

⁸ Shammah^[av] the Izrahite was commander of the fifth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fifth month.

⁹ Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa was commander of the sixth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the sixth month.

¹⁰ Helez, a descendant of Ephraim from Pelon, was commander of the seventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the seventh month.

¹¹ Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was commander of the eighth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eighth month.

¹² Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin was commander of the ninth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the ninth month.

¹³ Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was commander of the tenth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the tenth month.

¹⁴ Benaiah from Pirathon in Ephraim was commander of the eleventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eleventh month.

¹⁵ Heled,^[aw] a descendant of Othniel from Netophah, was commander of the twelfth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the twelfth month.

Leaders of the Tribes

¹⁶ The following were the tribes of Israel and their leaders:

Tribe	Leader
Reuben	Eliezer son of Zicri
Simeon	Shephatiah son of Maacah
17 Levi	Hashabiah son of Kemuel
Aaron (the priests)	Zadok
18 Judah	Elihu (a brother of David)
Issachar	Omri son of Michael
19 Zebulun	Ishmaiah son of Obadiah
Naphtali	Jeremoth son of Azriel
20 Ephraim	Hoshea son of Azaziah
Manasseh (west)	Joel son of Pedaiah
21 Manasseh in Gilead (east)	Iddo son of Zechariah
Benjamin	Jaasiel son of Abner
22 Dan	Azarel son of Jeroham

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³ When David took his census, he did not count those who were younger than twenty years of age, because the Lord had promised to make the Israelites as numerous as the stars in heaven. ²⁴ Joab son of Zeruiah began the census but never finished it because^[ax] the anger of God fell on Israel. The total number was never recorded in King David’s official records.

Officials of David’s Kingdom

²⁵ Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the palace treasuries.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the regional treasuries throughout the towns, villages, and fortresses of Israel.

²⁶ Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the king’s lands.

²⁷ Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the king’s vineyards.

Zabdi from Shepham was responsible for the grapes and the supplies of wine.

²⁸ Baal-hanan from Geder was in charge of the king’s olive groves and sycamore-fig trees in the foothills of Judah.^[ay]

Joash was responsible for the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹ Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Sharon Plain.

Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys.

³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹ Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the king’s flocks of sheep and goats.

All these officials were overseers of King David’s property.

³² Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a wise counselor to the king, a man of great insight, and a scribe. Jehiel the Hacmonite was responsible for teaching the king’s sons. ³³ Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend. ³⁴ Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king’s army.