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The Divisions of the Priests
24 The following were the divisions for the sons of Aaron.
The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 But because Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children, Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.
3 David, together with Zadok, the representative of the male descendants of Eleazar, and Ahimelek, the representative of the male descendants of Ithamar, divided the priests into divisions to be assigned different forms of service.
4 Because the descendants of Eleazar had more men who were leaders of large groups than the descendants of Ithamar did, this is how the priests were divided: From the descendants of Eleazar there were sixteen heads of fathers’ houses, and from the descendants of Ithamar there were eight heads of their fathers’ houses.
5 They were assigned to their duties impartially by drawing lots. There were officials for the sanctuary and officials to serve in the presence of God from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. 6 Shemaiah son of Nethanel, the scribe, who was a Levite, recorded the lots in the presence of the king and the government officials, namely, Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites. One father’s house was chosen from the descendants of Eleazar, then another, and then one was chosen from the descendants of Ithamar.[a]
7 The first lot came out for Jehoiarib,
the second for Jedaiah,
8 the third for Harim,
the fourth for Seorim,
9 the fifth for Malkijah,
the sixth for Mijamin,
10 the seventh for Hakkoz,
the eighth for Abijah,
11 the ninth for Jeshua,
the tenth for Shekaniah,
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 Jakin,
the twenty-second for Gamul,
18 the twenty-third for Delaiah,
and the twenty-fourth for Ma’aziah.
19 These were their assigned groups for their service, to come into the Lord’s house according to the regulations given to them by their forefather Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
The Divisions of Levites
20 From the rest of the descendants of Levi, the following were the heads and founders of divisions.
Leaders of the Kohathites
Shubael was from the sons of Amram,
and Jehdeiah was from the sons of Shubael.
21 Ishiah was the head from Rehabiah and the sons of Rehabiah.
22 Shelomoth was from the Izharites,
and Jahath was from the sons of Shelomoth.
23 The sons of Hebron[b] were Jeriah, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
24 Micah was from the sons of Uzziel,
and Shamir was from the sons of Micah.
25 Ishiah was the brother of Micah,
and Zechariah was from the sons of Ishiah.
Leaders of the Merarites
26 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.
The son of Ja’aziah was Beno.[c]
27 The sons of Merari from Ja’aziah were Beno,[d] Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.
28 From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 From Kish: the son of Kish was Jerahme’el.
30 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
These were the descendants of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.[e] 31 These all cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron had done in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites. The fathers’ houses of the oldest son cast lots just as those of his youngest brother did.
The Divisions of the Musicians
25 In addition, David and the officers of the army set apart for service certain of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men set apart for this work of service.
2 From the sons of Asaph:
Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied at the order of the king.
3 From Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun were:
Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied by giving thanks and praising the Lord with the lyre.
4 From Heman, the sons of Heman were:
Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, to fulfill the promise of God to exalt him.[f] God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
6 All these were under the direction of their father to make music in the Lord’s house, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of God’s house. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king. 7 The number of them, with their brothers who were instructed in singing to the Lord, all of whom were skillful, was two hundred eighty-eight. 8 They cast lots for their offices, all alike, the least as well as the greatest, the teacher as well as the student.
9 So the first lot came out for Asaph’s son Joseph. ⎣He and his brothers and sons totaled twelve.⎦[g]
The second lot fell to Gedaliah, his brothers and sons, twelve,
10 the third to Zakkur, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
11 the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
12 the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
13 the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
14 the seventh to Jesarelah,[h] his sons and his brothers, twelve,
15 the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
16 the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
17 the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
18 the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
19 the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
20 for the thirteenth lot Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
21 for the fourteenth Mattithiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
22 for the fifteenth Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
23 for the sixteenth Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
24 for the seventeenth Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
25 for the eighteenth Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
26 for the nineteenth Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
27 for the twentieth Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
28 for the twenty-first Hothir, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
29 for the twenty-second Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
30 for the twenty-third Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers, twelve,
31 for the twenty-fourth Romamti Ezer, his sons and his brothers, twelve.
Divisions of the Gatekeepers
26 For the gatekeepers, the following were the divisions.
From the Korahites
From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, from the sons of Asaph.
2 Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh.
4 Obed Edom had sons because God blessed him: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sakar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Pe’ullethai the eighth.
6 Sons were also born to his son Shemaiah, who ruled over the house of their father, for they were strong, capable men. 7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers were capable men, Elihu and Semakiah. 8 All these were male descendants of Obed Edom. They and their sons and their brothers were strong, capable men for the service. There were sixty-two of them from Obed Edom.
9 Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, capable men, eighteen in all.
From the Merarites
10 Hosah from the descendants of Merari also had sons. They were Shimri the head (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him head), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. All the sons and brothers of Hosah totaled thirteen.
Abraham, an Example of Justification by Faith
4 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered according to the flesh? 2 If indeed Abraham had been justified by works, he would have had a reason to boast—but not before God. 3 For what does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a]
4 Now to a person who works, his pay is not counted as a gift but as something owed. 5 But to the person who does not work but believes in the God who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness.
6 This is exactly what David says about the blessed state of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.[b]
Abraham Was Justified Before His Circumcision
9 Now then, does this blessing apply only to the circumcised or also to the uncircumcised? To be sure, we maintain that faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness. 10 So then, under what circumstances was it credited to him? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised at that time? He was not circumcised but uncircumcised, 11 and he received the mark of circumcision as the seal of the righteousness by faith that was already his while he was uncircumcised. So Abraham is the father of all the uncircumcised people who believe, so that righteousness would also be credited to them. 12 He is also the father of the circumcised people who are not merely circumcised but also walk in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Psalm 13
How Long, O Lord?
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
Anguished Questions
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I experience worries in my soul,
sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy tower over me?
An Urgent Prayer
3 Look at me. Answer me, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes
so I do not sleep in death,
4 so my enemy does not say, “I have overcome him,”
so my foes do not rejoice when I fall.
A Solid Answer
5 But I trust in your mercy.
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has accomplished his purpose for me.
15 Laziness makes a person fall into a deep sleep,
and an idle person will go hungry.
16 A person who keeps a command preserves his life.
One who despises his ways will die.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.