24 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.

And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.

And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.

Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.

And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.

Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

11 The ninth to Jeshuah, 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 Aphses,

16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel,

17 The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul,

18 The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah.

19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the Lord, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

20 And the rest of the sons of Levi were these: Of the sons of Amram; Shubael: of the sons of Shubael; Jehdeiah.

21 Concerning Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah.

22 Of the Izharites; Shelomoth: of the sons of Shelomoth; Jahath.

23 And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.

24 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah: of the sons of Michah; Shamir.

25 The brother of Michah was Isshiah: of the sons of Isshiah; Zechariah.

26 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno.

27 The sons of Merari by Jaaziah; Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri.

28 Of Mahli came Eleazar, who had no sons.

29 Concerning Kish: the son of Kish was Jerahmeel.

30 The sons also of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after the house of their fathers.

31 These likewise cast lots over against their brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites, even the principal fathers over against their younger brethren.

The Groups of the Priests

24 These were the groups of Aaron’s sons: Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did. Nadab and Abihu had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. David separated the tribes of Eleazar and Ithamar into two different groups. He did this so that these groups could do the duties of work they were given to do. David did this with the help of Zadok and Ahimelech. Zadok was a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelech was a descendant of Ithamar. There were more leaders from Eleazar’s family than from Ithamar’s. There were 16 leaders from Eleazar’s family and there were eight leaders from Ithamar’s family. Men were chosen from each family. They were chosen by throwing lots. Some of the men were chosen to be in charge of the Holy Place. And other men were chosen to serve as priests. All these men were from the families of Eleazar and Ithamar.

Shemaiah was the secretary.[a] He was Nethanel’s son. Shemaiah was from the tribe of Levi. Shemaiah wrote the names of those descendants. He wrote their names in front of King David and these leaders: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech, and the leaders from the families of the priests and of the Levites. Ahimelech was Abiathar’s son. Each time they threw the lots a man was chosen, and Shemaiah wrote down that man’s name. So they divided the work among groups of men from the families of Eleazar and Ithamar.

The first was Jehoiarib’s group.

The second was Jedaiah’s group.

The third was Harim’s group.

The fourth was Seorim’s group.

The fifth was Malkijah’s group.

The sixth was Mijamin’s group.

10 The seventh was Hakkoz’s group.

The eighth was Abijah’s group.

11 The ninth was Jeshua’s group.

The tenth was Shecaniah’s group.

12 The eleventh was Eliashib’s group.

The twelfth was Jakim’s group.

13 The thirteenth was Huppah’s group.

The fourteenth was Jeshebeab’s group.

14 The fifteenth was Bilgah’s group.

The sixteenth was Immer’s group.

15 The seventeenth was Hezir’s group.

The eighteenth was Happizzez’s group.

16 The nineteenth was Pethahiah’s group.

The twentieth was Jehezkel’s group.

17 The twenty-first was Jakin’s group.

The twenty-second was Gamul’s group.

18 The twenty-third was Delaiah’s group.

The twenty-fourth was Maaziah’s group.

19 These were the groups chosen to serve in the Lord’s Temple. They obeyed Aaron’s rules for serving in the Temple. The Lord, the God of Israel, had given them to Aaron.

The Other Levites

20 These are the names of the rest of Levi’s descendants:

Shubael was a descendant of Amram.

Jehdeiah was a descendant of Shubael.

21 Isshiah was the oldest son of Rehabiah.

22 From the Izhar family group there was Shelomoth.

Jahath was a descendant of Shelomoth.

23 Jeriah was the oldest son of Hebron.

Amariah was Hebron’s second son.

Jahaziel was his third son,

and Jekameam was his fourth son.

24 Uzziel’s son was Micah.

Micah’s son was Shamir.

25 Isshiah was Micah’s brother.

Isshiah’s son was Zechariah.

26 [b] Merari’s descendants were Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah his son.

27 Jaaziah son of Merari had sons named Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

28 Mahli’s son was Eleazar, but Eleazar did not have sons.

29 Kish’s son was Jerahmeel.

30 Mushi’s sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

These are the leaders of the Levite families. They are listed by their families. 31 They were chosen for special jobs by throwing lots, like their relatives, the priests. The priests were Aaron’s descendants. They threw lots in front of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the leaders of the priests’ and Levite families. The older families and the younger families were treated the same when their jobs were chosen.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 24:6 secretary A man who wrote down and copied books and letters.
  2. 1 Chronicles 24:26 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.