1 Chronicles 23-27

New King James Version

The Divisions of the Levites

23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son ^(A)Solomon king over Israel.

² And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³ Now the Levites were numbered from the age of ^(B)thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ Of these, twenty-four thousand were to ^(C)look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were ^(D)officers and judges, ⁵ four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand ^(E)praised the Lord with musical instruments, ^(F)“which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

⁶ Also ^(G)David separated them into ^[a]divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷ Of the ^(H)Gershonites: ^[b]Laadan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, ^[c]Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father’s house.

^12 (I)The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. ¹³ The sons of ^(J)Amram: Aaron and Moses; and ^(K)Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should ^[d]sanctify the most holy things, ^(L)to burn incense before the Lord, ^(M)to minister to Him, and ^(N)to give the blessing in His name forever. ¹⁴ Now ^(O)the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. ^15 (P)The sons of Moses were ^[e]Gershon and Eliezer. ¹⁶ Of the sons of Gershon, ^(Q)Shebuel^[f] was the first. ¹⁷ Of the descendants of Eliezer, ^(R)Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ Of the sons of Izhar, ^(S)Shelomith was the first. ^19 (T)Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.

^21 (U)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and ^(V)Kish. ²² And Eleazar died, and ^(W)had no sons, but only daughters; and their ^[g]brethren, the sons of Kish, ^(X)took them as wives. ^23 (Y)The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

²⁴ These were the sons of ^(Z)Levi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of ^(AA)twenty years and above.

²⁵ For David said, “The Lord God of Israel ^(AB)has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”; ²⁶ and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer ^(AC)carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.” ²⁷ For by the ^(AD)last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above; ²⁸ because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹ both with ^(AE)the showbread and ^(AF)the fine flour for the grain offering, with ^(AG)the unleavened cakes and ^(AH)what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of ^(AI)measures and sizes; ³⁰ to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening; ³¹ and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the Lord ^(AJ)on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the ^(AK)set^[h] feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the Lord; ³² and that they should ^(AL)attend to the ^(AM)needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the ^(AN)needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the Lord.

The Divisions of the Priests

24 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. ^(AO)The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² And ^(AP)Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests. ³ Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and ^(AQ)Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service.

⁴ There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar. ⁵ Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. ⁶ And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites, one father’s house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.

⁷ Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹ the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to ^(AR)Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to ^[i]Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to ^[j]Jehezekel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹ This was the schedule of their service ^(AS)for coming into the house of the Lord according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

Other Levites

²⁰ And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, ^[k]Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. ²¹ Concerning ^(AT)Rehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. ²² Of the Izharites, ^[l]Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. ²³ Of the sons ^[m]of ^(AU)Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴ Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir. ²⁵ The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ^26 (AV)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno. ²⁷ The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸ Of Mahli: Eleazar, ^(AW)who had no sons. ²⁹ Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerahmeel.

³⁰ Also ^(AX)the sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

³¹ These also cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their younger brethren.

The Musicians

25 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of ^(AY)Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: ² Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and ^[n]Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were ^[o]under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. ³ Of ^(AZ)Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, ^[p]Zeri, Jeshaiah, ^[q]Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, ^[r]six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, ^[s]Uzziel, ^[t]Shebuel, ^[u]Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to ^[v]exalt his ^(BA)horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶ All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and ^(BB)harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were ^(BC)under the authority of the king. ⁷ So the ^(BD)number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.

⁸ And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, ^(BE)the teacher with the student.

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

The Gatekeepers

26 Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, ^[ab]Meshelemiah the son of ^(BF)Kore, of the sons of ^[ac]Asaph. ² And the sons of Meshelemiah were ^(BG)Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³ Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴ Moreover the sons of ^(BH)Obed-Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, ⁵ Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him.

⁶ Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability. ⁷ The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men.

⁸ All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, ^(BI)able men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom.

⁹ And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men.

¹⁰ Also ^(BJ)Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first), ¹¹ Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

¹² Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the Lord. ¹³ And they ^(BK)cast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father’s house. ¹⁴ The lot for the East Gate fell to ^[ad]Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate; ¹⁵ to Obed-Edom the South Gate, and to his sons the ^[ae]storehouse. ¹⁶ To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the ^(BL)ascending highway—watchman opposite watchman. ¹⁷ On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the ^[af]storehouse two by two. ¹⁸ As for the ^[ag]Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar. ¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari.

The Treasuries and Other Duties

²⁰ Of the Levites, Ahijah was ^(BM)over the treasuries of the house of God and over the treasuries of the ^(BN)dedicated^[ah] things. ²¹ The sons of ^[ai]Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: ^[aj]Jehieli. ²² The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord. ²³ Of the ^(BO)Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: ^24 (BP)Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries. ²⁵ And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and ^(BQ)Shelomith his son.

²⁶ This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things ^(BR)which King David and the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. ²⁷ Some of the ^[ak]spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the Lord. ²⁸ And all that Samuel ^(BS)the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren.

²⁹ Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons ^(BT)performed duties as ^(BU)officials and judges over Israel outside Jerusalem.

³⁰ Of the Hebronites, ^(BV)Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the Lord, and in the service of the king. ³¹ Among the Hebronites, ^(BW)Jerijah was head of the Hebronites according to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men ^(BX)at Jazer of Gilead. ³² And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the ^(BY)affairs of the king.

The Military Divisions

27 And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.

² Over the first division for the first month was ^(BZ)Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand; ³ he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. ⁴ Over the division of the second month was ^[al]Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁵ The third captain of the army for the third month was ^(CA)Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁶ This was the Benaiah who was ^(CB)mighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son. ⁷ The fourth captain for the fourth month was ^(CC)Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸ The fifth captain for the fifth month was ^[am]Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹ The sixth captain for the sixth month was ^(CD)Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰ The seventh captain for the seventh month was ^(CE)Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹ The eighth captain for the eighth month was ^(CF)Sibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹² The ninth captain for the ninth month was ^(CG)Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³ The tenth captain for the tenth month was ^(CH)Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴ The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was ^(CI)Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵ The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was ^[an]Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Leaders of Tribes

¹⁶ Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; over the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; ¹⁷ over the Levites, ^(CJ)Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok; ¹⁸ over Judah, ^(CK)Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹ over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel; ²⁰ over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; ²¹ over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; ²² over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³ But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because ^(CL)the Lord had said He would multiply Israel like the ^(CM)stars of the heavens. ²⁴ Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for ^(CN)wrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.

Other State Officials

²⁵ And Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king’s treasuries; and Jehonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. ²⁶ Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground. ²⁷ And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. ²⁸ Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. ²⁹ And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, ³¹ and Jaziz the ^(CO)Hagrite was over the flocks. All these were the officials over King David’s property.

³² Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a ^[ao]scribe; and Jehiel the ^[ap]son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons. ^33 (CP)Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and ^(CQ)Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion. ³⁴ After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then ^(CR)Abiathar. And the general of the king’s army was ^(CS)Joab.