1 Chronicles 27
Legacy Standard Bible
Commanders of the Divisions
27 Now this is the total count of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who ministered to the king in each matter of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division numbering 24,000:
2 Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel was (A)over the first division for the first month; and in his division were 24,000.
3 He was from the sons of Perez, and was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month.
4 Dodai the Ahohite and his division were over the division for the second month, Mikloth being the chief officer; and in his division were 24,000.
5 The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were 24,000.
6 This Benaiah was the mighty man of the thirty, and was over thirty; and over his division was Ammizabad his son.
7 The fourth for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were 24,000.
8 The fifth for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were 24,000.
9 The sixth for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were 24,000.
10 The seventh for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000.
11 The eighth for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000.
12 The ninth for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite of the Benjamites; and in his division were 24,000.
13 The tenth for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000.
14 The eleventh for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000.
15 The twelfth for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were 24,000.
Chief Officers of the Tribes
16 Now those over the tribes of Israel:
chief officer for the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri;
for the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah;
17 for Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel;
for Aaron, Zadok;
18 for Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers;
for Issachar, Omri the son of Michael;
19 for Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah;
for Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel;
20 for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah;
for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;
21 for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah;
for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;
22 for Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham.
(B)These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
23 But David did not take up a count of those twenty years of age and under, (C)because Yahweh had said He would multiply Israel (D)as the stars of heaven. 24 Joab the son of Zeruiah had begun to number them, but did not finish; and because of (E)this, wrath came upon Israel, and [a]this count was not included in the total count of the chronicles of King David.
Officials over David’s Possessions
25 Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king’s storehouses.
And Jonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages and in the towers.
26 Ezri the son of Chelub was over the [b]workers of the field who cultivated the soil.
27 Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards;
and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the [c]produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars.
28 Baal-hanan the Gederite was over the olive and (F)sycamore trees in the [d]Shephelah;
and Joash had charge of the stores of oil.
29 Shitrai the Sharonite was over the cattle which were grazing in (G)Sharon;
and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the cattle in the valleys.
30 Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels;
and Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys.
31 Jaziz the (H)Hagrite was over the flocks.
All these were officials over the possessions which belonged to King David.
Counselors
32 Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe;
and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons.
33 (I)Ahithophel was counselor to the king;
and (J)Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.
34 Jehoiada the son of (K)Benaiah, and (L)Abiathar [e]succeeded Ahithophel;
and Joab was the (M)commander of the king’s army.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 27:24 Lit the
- 1 Chronicles 27:26 Lit doers of the work of the field for the serving of...
- 1 Chronicles 27:27 Lit what was in the vineyards of the storehouses of wine
- 1 Chronicles 27:28 Or lowland
- 1 Chronicles 27:34 Lit after
1 Chronicles 27
The Message
Military Organization
27 Here is the listing of the sons of Israel by family heads, commanders and captains, and other officers who served the king in everything military. Army divisions were on duty a month at a time for the twelve months of the year. Each division comprised 24,000 men.
2-3 First division, first month: Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge with 24,000 men. He came from the line of Perez. He was over all the army officers during the first month.
4 The division for the second month: Dodai the Ahohite was in charge: 24,000 men; Mikloth was the leader of his division.
5-6 Commander for the third month: Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest with 24,000 men. This was the same Benaiah who was a Mighty Man among the Thirty and their chief. His son Ammizabad was in charge of the division.
7 Fourth division for the fourth month: Asahel brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah succeeded him: 24,000 men.
8 Fifth division, fifth month: commander Shamhuth the Izrahite: 24,000 men.
9 Sixth division, sixth month: Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: 24,000 men.
10 Seventh division, seventh month: Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite: 24,000 men.
11 Eighth division, eighth month: Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite: 24,000 men.
12 Ninth division, ninth month: Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjaminite: 24,000 men.
13 Tenth division, tenth month: Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite: 24,000 men.
14 Eleventh division, eleventh month: Benaiah the Pirathomite, an Ephraimite: 24,000 men.
15 Twelfth division, twelfth month: Heldai the Netophathite from the family of Othniel: 24,000 men.
Tribal Administrators
16-22 Administrators of the affairs of the tribes:
for Reuben: Eliezer son of Zicri;
for Simeon: Shephatiah son of Maacah;
for Levi: Hashabiah son of Kemuel;
for Aaron: Zadok;
for Judah: Elihu, David’s brother;
for Issachar: Omri son of Michael;
for Zebulun: Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;
for Naphtali: Jerimoth son of Azriel;
for Ephraim: Hoshea son of Azaziah;
for one half-tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;
for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo son of Zechariah;
for Benjamin: Jaasiel son of Abner;
for Dan: Azarel son of Jeroham.
These are the administrative officers assigned to the tribes of Israel.
23-24 David didn’t keep a count of men under the age of twenty, because God had promised to give Israel a population as numerous as the stars in the sky. Joab son of Zeruiah started out counting the men, but he never finished. God’s anger broke out on Israel because of the counting. As it turned out, the numbers were never entered into the court records of King David.
Supply Officers
25 The king’s storage facilities were supervised by Azmaveth son of Adiel. Jonathan son of Uzziah was responsible for the warehouses in the outlying areas.
26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers on the farms.
27 Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards and Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of grapes for the wine vats.
28 Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig trees in the western hills, and Joash was in charge of the olive oil.
29 Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of herds grazing in Sharon and Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of herds in the valley.
30-31 Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys, and Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.
These were the ones responsible for taking care of King David’s property.
David’s Counselors
32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, a wise and literate counselor, and Jehiel son of Hacmoni, were responsible for raising the king’s sons.
33-34 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor; Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend. Ahithophel was later replaced by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.
Joab was commander of the king’s army.
1 Chronicles 27
GOD’S WORD Translation
David’s Government Officials
27 This is a list of Israelite family heads, regiment and battalion commanders, and officers who were serving the king in all the army’s units. Throughout each year they came for a month at a time and then left. Each unit consisted of 24,000 men.
2 Jashobeam, son of Zabdiel, was in charge of the first unit, the one during the first month. In his unit there were 24,000. 3 He was a descendant of Perez, and he was head of all of the army’s officers for the first month.
4 Dodai, Ahoh’s descendant, was in charge of the unit during the second month. It was his unit. (Mikloth was one of its leaders.) In Dodai’s unit there were 24,000.
5 The third commander of the army during the third month was Benaiah, son of the priest Jehoiada. He was the head, and in his unit there were 24,000. 6 This Benaiah was one of the thirty fighting men and commander of the thirty as well as his own unit. His son was Ammizabad.
7 Asahel, Joab’s brother, was in charge of the fourth unit during the fourth month, and after him was his son Zebadiah. In his unit there were 24,000.
8 Shamhuth, Izrah’s descendant, was commander of the fifth unit during the fifth month. In his unit there were 24,000.
9 Ira, the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, was in charge of the sixth unit during the sixth month. In his unit there were 24,000.
10 Helez, a Pelonite from the descendants of Ephraim, was in charge of the seventh unit during the seventh month. In his unit there were 24,000.
11 Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was in charge of the eighth unit during the eighth month. In his unit there were 24,000.
12 Abiezer, a member of the tribe of Benjamin from Anathoth, was in charge of the ninth unit during the ninth month. In his unit there were 24,000.
13 Mahrai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was in charge of the tenth unit during the tenth month. In his unit there were 24,000.
14 Benaiah, a member of the tribe of Ephraim from Pirathon, was in charge of the eleventh unit during the eleventh month. In his unit there were 24,000.
15 During the twelfth month, the twelfth unit was commanded by Heldai from Netophah. He was Othniel’s descendant. In his unit there were 24,000.
16 The following officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel:
for the tribe of Reuben
Eliezer, son of Zichri
for the tribe of Simeon
Shephatiah, son of Maacah
17 for the tribe of Levi
Hashabiah, son of Kemuel
for the family of Aaron
Zadok
18 for the tribe of Judah
Elihu, one of David’s brothers
for the tribe of Issachar
Omri, son of Michael
19 for the tribe of Zebulun
Ishmaiah, son of Obadiah
for the tribe of Naphtali
Jerimoth, son of Azriel
20 for the tribe of Ephraim
Hoshea, son of Azaziah
for half of the tribe of Manasseh
Joel, son of Pedaiah
21 for the half of Manasseh in Gilead
Iddo, son of Zechariah
for the tribe of Benjamin
Jaasiel, son of Abner
22 for the tribe of Dan
Azarel, son of Jeroham
These were the commanders of Israel’s tribes.
23 David didn’t count those under 20 years old, because the Lord had promised that the people of Israel would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. 24 Joab, son of Zeruiah, started to count them but didn’t finish. God was angry with Israel because of this, and the report from it was never included in the official records of King David.
25 These were all the commanders in charge of King David’s property: [a]
for the royal treasuries
Azmaveth, son of Adiel
for the goods in the fields, cities, villages, and watchtowers
Jonathan, son of Uzziah
26 for the farm workers in the fields
Ezri, son of Chelub
27 for the vineyards
Shimei from Ramah
for storing wine that came from the vineyards
Zabdi from Shepham
28 for the olive and fig trees in the foothills
Baal Hanan from Gedor
for storing olive oil
Joash
29 for the herds grazing in Sharon
Shitrai from Sharon
for the herds in the valleys
Shaphat, son of Adlai
30 for the camels
Obil, a descendant of Ishmael
for the donkeys
Jehdeiah from Meronoth
31 for the flocks
Jaziz from Hagar
32 David’s uncle Jonathan, an educated man who possessed insight, was David’s adviser. Jonathan and Jehiel, son of Hachmoni, were in charge of the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king’s adviser. Hushai, a descendant of Archi, was the king’s friend. 34 Jehoiada (son of Benaiah) and Abiathar succeeded Ahithophel. Joab was the commander of the royal army.
Footnotes
- 27:25 The last part of verse 32 has been moved to the beginning of verse 25 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
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