The Daily Audio Bible
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Gatekeepers
12 The following were the divisions of the gatekeepers, according to their influential leaders, who had offices[a] like their brothers, to minister in the Lord’s house. 13 They cast lots for every gate according to their fathers’ houses, the small as well as the great.
14 The lot for the east side fell to Shelemiah.
Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the north side.
15 For Obed Edom the lot was for the south side, and for his sons the lot was for the storehouse.
16 For Shuppim and Hosah the lot was for the west side, by the gate of Shalleketh, by the ramp that goes up. They were stationed with one watchman next to another.
17 On the east side there were six Levites each day,
on the north side four each day,
and on the south side four each day,
and at the storehouse two at a time.
18 For the covered courtyard[b] on the west side, four were stationed at the ramp, and two at the courtyard.
19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the descendants of the Korahites and from the descendants of Merari.
The Treasurers
20 From the Levites, Ahijah was[c] in charge of the treasuries[d] of God’s house and the treasuries for the consecrated things.
21 The sons of Ladan (who were descendants of Gershon through Ladan and who were the heads of the fathers’ households descended from Ladan the Gershonite) included Jehieli, 22 the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries of the Lord’s house.
23 From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: 24 Shebuel, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was supervisor over the treasuries.
25 His relatives were Eliezer, his son Rehabiah, and his son Jeshaiah, and his son Joram, and his son Zikri, and his son Shelomoth. 26 This Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasuries for the consecrated things, which David the king, together with the heads of the fathers’ households, the officers over thousands and hundreds, and the officers of the army, had dedicated. 27 They dedicated some of the plunder won in battles, to repair the Lord’s house. 28 Everything that Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah had dedicated, regardless of who had dedicated it, was under the control of Shelomoth and of his brothers.
The Government Officials
29 From the Izharites, Kenaniah and his sons were assigned to the civil administration of Israel as officers and judges. 30 From the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, seventeen hundred capable men were in charge of the administration of Israel west of the Jordan, for all the work of the Lord and for the service of the king.
31 For the Hebronites, Jeriah was the head of the Hebronites on the basis of their genealogical records according to their fathers’ households. The genealogical records were verified in the fortieth year of the reign of David, and capable men were found among them at Jazer of Gilead. 32 Among Jeriah’s brothers, who were capable men, there were twenty-seven hundred heads of fathers’ households, whom King David made overseers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, and for every matter pertaining to the king.
The Generals of the Army
27 The following is the list of the leaders of the people of Israel, those who were the heads of fathers’ houses and the commanders[e] of military units of a thousand and of a hundred, and the officers who served the king in any matter. They served in divisions that came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year. In every division there were twenty-four thousand men.
2 Over the first division for the first month was Jashobeam son of Zabdiel. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men. 3 He was from the sons of Perez. He was the head of all the commanders of the army for the first month.
4 Over the division for the second month was Dodai the Ahohite. Mikloth was the leader of his division. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
5 The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the head priest. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men. 6 This is the same Benaiah who was the powerful warrior among the Thirty and the leader of the Thirty. Ammizabad his son was commander of his division.
7 The fourth commander for the fourth month was Asahel, the brother of Joab. Zebadiah his son succeeded him, and in his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
8 The fifth commander for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite, and in his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
9 The sixth commander for the sixth month was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoan, and in his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
10 The seventh commander for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, from the descendants of Ephraim, and in his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
11 The eighth commander for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, from the descendants of Zerah. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
12 The ninth commander for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, from the descendants of Benjamin. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
13 The tenth commander for the tenth month was Mahrai the Netophathite, from the descendants of Zerah. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
14 The eleventh commander for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, from the descendants of Ephraim. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
15 The twelfth commander for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, from Othniel. In his division there were twenty-four thousand men.
The Leaders of the Tribes
16 The following were over the tribes of Israel:
Of the Reubenites, Eliezer son of Zikri was the leader,
Of the Simeonites, Shephatiah son of Ma’akah,
17 Of Levi, Hashabiah son of Kemuel,
Of the descendants of Aaron, Zadok,
18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brothers of David,
Of Issachar, Omri son of Michael,
19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah son of Obadiah,
Of Naphtali, Jeremoth son of Azriel,
20 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Azaziah,
Of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel son of Pedaiah,
21 Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah,
Of Benjamin, Ja’asiel son of Abner,
22 Of Dan, Azarel son of Jeroham.
These were the officers of the tribes of Israel.[f]
23 David did not count those twenty years old and under, because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the sky. 24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to take a census but did not finish, and wrath came on Israel because of this. The number was not put into the account in the annals of King David.
Other Officials
25 Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king’s storehouses.
Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers.
26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of those who worked in the fields, farming the land.
27 Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.
Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars.
28 Baal Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive trees and the sycamore fig trees that were in the Shephelah.[g]
Joash was in charge of the storehouses for oil.
29 Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds that grazed in Sharon.
Shaphat the son of Adlai was in charge of the herds that were in the lowlands.
30 Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.
Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.
31 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.
All these were in charge of the property which belonged to King David.
32 Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was an advisor, a man of understanding, and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of[h] the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Arkite was the confidant.[i] 34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was the commander of the king’s army.
Abraham Received What God Promised by Faith, Not by Law
13 Indeed, the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not given to Abraham or his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness that is by faith. 14 To be sure, if people are heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 15 For law brings wrath. (Where there is no law, there is no transgression.) 16 For this reason, the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants—not only to the one who is a descendant by law, but also to the one who has the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[a]
Abraham’s Faith Was a Firm Trust in God’s Promise
In the presence of God, Abraham believed him who makes the dead alive and calls non-existing things so that they exist.[b] 18 Hoping beyond what he could expect, he believed that he would become the father of many nations, just as he was told: “This is how many your descendants will be.”[c] 19 He did not weaken in faith, even though he considered his own body as good as dead (because he was about one hundred years old), and even though he considered Sarah’s womb to be dead. 20 He did not waver in unbelief with respect to God’s promise, but he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God 21 and being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”[d]
23 Now the statement “it was credited to him” was not written for him alone, 24 but also for us to whom it would be credited, namely, to us who believe in the one who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. 25 He was handed over to death because of our trespasses and was raised to life because of our justification.
Justification Brings Peace and Joy
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace[e] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we also have obtained access by faith[f] into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory[g] of God.
3 Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, 4 and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. 5 And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.
Psalm 14
The Fool
(Psalm 53)
Heading
For the choir director. By David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt. They do disgusting things.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam
to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God.
3 Every one of them has turned away.
Altogether they have become rotten.
There is no one who does good.
There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t any of these evildoers understand,
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread?
They do not call on the Lord.
5 There they are! They are terrified
because God is present in the circle of the righteous.
6 You try to put the plans of the poor to shame,
but the Lord is their refuge.
Closing Prayer
7 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion?[a]
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
17 A person who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord.
He will repay him in full.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.