Divisions of the Gatekeepers

26 For the divisions of the gatekeepers there were of the Korahites, ^[a]Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of ^[b]Asaph. ² Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³ Elam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh. ^4 (A)Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, ⁵ Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth; God had indeed blessed him. ⁶ Also to his son Shemaiah sons were born who ruled over the house of their father, for they were valiant mighty men. ⁷ The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers, Elihu and Semachiah, were valiant men. ⁸ All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and relatives were able men with strength for the service, sixty-two from Obed-edom. ⁹ Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, eighteen valiant men. ¹⁰ Also ^(B)Hosah, one of the sons of Merari had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father made him first), ¹¹ Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth; the sons and relatives of Hosah were thirteen in all.

¹² To these divisions of the gatekeepers, to the chief men, were given duties like their relatives, to serve in the house of the Lord. ^13 (C)They cast lots, the small and the great alike, according to their fathers’ households, for every gate. ¹⁴ The lot to the east fell to ^[c]Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a counselor with insight, and his lot came out to the north. ¹⁵ For Obed-edom it fell to the south, and to his sons went the storehouse. ¹⁶ For Shuppim and Hosah it was to the west, by the gate of Shallecheth, on the ascending highway. Guard corresponded to guard. ¹⁷ On the east there were six Levites, on the north four daily, on the south four daily, and at the storehouse two by two. ¹⁸ At the ^[d](D)annex on the west there were four at the highway and two at the annex. ¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and of the sons of Merari.

Keepers of the Treasure

^20 [e]The Levites, their relatives, were in ^(E)charge of the treasures of the house of God and of the treasures of the dedicated gifts. ²¹ The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, namely, the Jehielites, were the heads of the fathers’ households, belonging to Ladan the Gershonite.

²² The sons of Jehieli, Zetham, and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasures of the house of the Lord. ²³ As for the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, ²⁴ Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was officer over the treasures. ²⁵ His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son. ²⁶ This Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of all the treasures of the dedicated gifts ^(F)which King David and the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated. ²⁷ They dedicated ^[f]part of the spoils won in battles to repair the house of the Lord. ²⁸ And all that Samuel the seer had dedicated, and Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, everyone who had dedicated anything, all of this was ^[g]under the care of ^[h]Shelomoth and his relatives.

Outside Duties

²⁹ As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons ^(G)were assigned to outside duties for Israel, as ^(H)officers and judges. ³⁰ As for the Hebronites, ^(I)Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, ^[i]were responsible for the affairs of Israel ^[j]west of the Jordan, for all the work of the Lord and the service of the king. ³¹ As for the Hebronites, ^(J)Jerijah the chief ^[k](these Hebronites were sought out according to their genealogies and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and men of outstanding capability were found among them at ^(K)Jazer of Gilead) ³² and his relatives, capable men, numbered 2,700, heads of fathers’ households. And King David appointed them as overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites ^(L)concerning ^[l]all the affairs of God and of the king.

Commanders of the Army

27 Now this is the number of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all the affairs of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout the months of the year, each division numbering twenty-four thousand:

² Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel ^[m](M)was in charge of the first division for the first month; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. 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 was in charge of the division for the second month, Mikloth being the chief officer; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. 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 twenty-four thousand. ⁶ This Benaiah was the mighty man of the thirty, and was in charge of thirty; and over his division was his son Ammizabad. ⁷ The fourth, for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸ The fifth, for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹ The sixth, for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰ The seventh, for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹ The eighth, for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹² The ninth, for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite of the Benjaminites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³ The tenth, for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴ The eleventh, for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵ The twelfth, for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Chief Officers of the Tribes

¹⁶ Now in charge of 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. ^(N)These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. ²³ But David did not ^[n]count those twenty years of age and under, ^(O)because the Lord had said He would multiply Israel ^(P)as the stars of heaven. ²⁴ Joab the son of Zeruiah had begun to count them, but did not finish; and because of ^(Q)this, wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not included in the account of the chronicles of King David.

Various Overseers

²⁵ Now Azmaveth the son of Adiel was responsible for the king’s storehouses. And Jonathan the son of Uzziah was responsible for the storehouses in the country, the cities, the villages, and the towers. ²⁶ Ezri the son of Chelub was responsible for the ^[o]agricultural workers who tilled the soil. ²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was responsible for the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite was responsible for the ^[p]produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars. ²⁸ Baal-hanan the Gederite was responsible for the olive and ^(R)sycamore trees in the ^[q]Shephelah; and Joash was responsible for the stores of oil. ²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was responsible for the cattle which were grazing in ^(S)Sharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was responsible for the camels; and Jehdeiah the Meronothite was responsible for the donkeys. ³¹ Jaziz the ^(T)Hagrite was responsible for the flocks. All these were ^[r]overseers of the property 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 ^[s]tutored the king’s sons. ^33 (U)Ahithophel was counselor to the king; and ^(V)Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend. ³⁴ Jehoiada the son of ^(W)Benaiah, and ^(X)Abiathar ^[t]succeeded Ahithophel; and Joab was the ^(Y)commander of the king’s army.

The Beast from the Sea

13 And the dragon stood on the sand of the ^[a]seashore.

Then I saw a ^(A)beast coming up out of the sea, having ^(B)ten horns and ^(C)seven heads, and on his horns were ^(D)ten crowns, and on his heads were ^(E)blasphemous names. ² And the beast that I saw was ^(F)like a leopard, and his feet were like those of ^(G)a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of ^(H)a lion. And the ^(I)dragon gave him his power and his ^(J)throne, and great authority. ³ I saw one of his heads as if it had been ^[b]fatally wounded, and his ^(K)fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth ^(L)was amazed and followed after the beast; ⁴ they worshiped the ^(M)dragon because he ^(N)gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “^(O)Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” ⁵ A mouth was given to him ^(P)speaking ^[c]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for ^(Q)forty-two months was given to him. ⁶ And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, ^(R)those who dwell in heaven.

⁷ It was also given to him to ^(S)make war with the ^[d]saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over ^(T)every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸ All who ^(U)live on the earth will worship him, everyone ^(V)whose name has not been ^[e]written ^(W)since the foundation of the world in the ^(X)book of life of ^(Y)the Lamb who has been slaughtered. ^9 (Z)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ^10 (AA)If anyone ^[f]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; ^(AB)if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is ^(AC)the ^[g]perseverance and the faith of the ^[h]saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then ^(AD)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had ^(AE)two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a ^(AF)dragon. ¹² He ^(AG)exercises all the authority of the first beast ^[i](AH)in his presence. And he makes ^(AI)the earth and those who live on it ^(AJ)worship the first beast, whose ^(AK)fatal wound was healed. ¹³ He ^(AL)performs great signs, so that he even makes ^(AM)fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. ¹⁴ And he ^(AN)deceives ^(AO)those who live on the earth because of ^(AP)the signs which it was given him to perform ^[j](AQ)in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the ^(AR)wound of the sword and has come to life. ¹⁵ And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even ^[k]speak and cause ^(AS)all who do not ^(AT)worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ And he causes all, ^(AU)the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, ^[l]to be given a ^(AV)mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the ^(AW)mark, either ^(AX)the name of the beast or ^(AY)the number of his name. ^18 (AZ)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that ^(BA)of a ^[m]man; and his number is ^[n]six hundred and sixty-six.

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and behold, ^(BB)the Lamb was standing on ^(BC)Mount Zion, and with Him ^(BD)144,000 who had ^(BE)His name and the ^(BF)name of His Father written ^(BG)on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven, like ^(BH)the sound of many waters and like the ^(BI)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of ^(BJ)harpists playing on their harps. ³ And they *sang ^[o](BK)a new song before the throne and before the ^(BL)four living creatures and the ^(BM)elders; and ^(BN)no one was able to learn the song except the ^(BO)144,000 who had been ^(BP)purchased from the earth. ^4 (BQ)These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who ^(BR)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been ^(BS)purchased from mankind ^(BT)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ And ^(BU)no lie was found in their mouths; they are ^(BV)blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

⁶ And I saw another angel flying in ^(BW)midheaven with ^(BX)an eternal gospel to preach to ^(BY)those who ^[p]live on the earth, and to ^(BZ)every nation, tribe, language, and people; ⁷ and he said with a loud voice, “^(CA)Fear God and ^(CB)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who ^(CC)made the heaven and the earth, and sea and ^(CD)springs of waters.”

⁸ And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “^[q](CE)Fallen, fallen is ^(CF)Babylon the great, she who has ^(CG)made all the nations drink of the ^(CH)wine of the ^[r]passion of her sexual immorality.”

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

⁹ Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^(CI)worships the beast and his ^(CJ)image, and receives a ^(CK)mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink of the ^(CL)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed ^[s]in full strength ^(CM)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with ^(CN)fire and ^[t]brimstone in the presence of the ^(CO)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the ^(CP)smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; ^(CQ)they have no rest day and night, those who ^(CR)worship the beast and his ^(CS)image, and ^[u]whoever receives the ^(CT)mark of his name.” ¹² Here is ^(CU)the ^[v]perseverance of the ^[w]saints who ^(CV)keep the commandments of God and ^[x](CW)their faith in Jesus.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘^(CX)Blessed are the dead who ^(CY)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” ^(CZ)says the Spirit, “so that they may ^(DA)rest from their labors, for their ^(DB)deeds follow with them.”

The Harvest

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a ^(DC)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one ^(DD)like ^[y]a son of man, with a golden ^(DE)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵ And another angel ^(DF)came out of the ^[z]temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “^[aa](DG)Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the ^(DH)harvest of the earth ^[ab]is ripe.” ¹⁶ Then He who sat on the cloud ^[ac]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷ And another angel ^(DI)came out of the ^[ad]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then another angel, ^(DJ)the one who has power over fire, came out from ^(DK)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “^[ae](DL)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters ^[af]from the vine of the earth, ^(DM)because her grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel ^[ag]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into ^(DN)the great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And ^(DO)the wine press was trampled ^(DP)outside the city, and ^(DQ)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, ^[ah]for a distance of ^[ai]1,600 stadia.

A Scene of Heaven

15 Then I saw ^(DR)another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ^(DS)seven angels who had ^(DT)seven plagues, which are ^(DU)the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw something like a ^(DV)sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who ^(DW)were victorious ^[aj]over the ^(DX)beast and ^(DY)his image and the ^(DZ)number of his name, standing on the ^(EA)sea of glass, holding ^(EB)harps of God. ³ And they *sang the ^(EC)song of Moses, ^(ED)the bond-servant of God, and the ^(EE)song of the Lamb, saying,

⁵ After these things I looked, and ^(EL)the ^[am]temple of the ^(EM)tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, ⁶ and the ^(EN)seven angels who had the seven plagues ^(EO)came out of the ^[an]temple, clothed in ^[ao]linen, clean and bright, and ^(EP)their chests wrapped with golden sashes. ⁷ And one of the ^(EQ)four living creatures gave the ^(ER)seven angels seven ^(ES)golden bowls full of the ^(ET)wrath of God, who ^(EU)lives forever and ever. ⁸ And the ^[ap]temple was filled with ^(EV)smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the ^[aq]temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

The Bowls of Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from ^(EW)the ^[ar]temple, saying to the ^(EX)seven angels, “Go and ^(EY)pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl ^(EZ)on the earth; and a harmful and painful ^(FA)sore ^[as]afflicted the people ^(FB)who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl ^(FC)into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living ^[at]thing in the sea died.

⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the ^(FD)rivers and the springs of waters; and they ^(FE)became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “^(FF)Righteous are You, ^(FG)the One who is and who was, O ^(FH)Holy One, because You ^(FI)judged these things; ⁶ for they poured out ^(FJ)the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them ^(FK)blood to drink. They ^[au]deserve it.” ⁷ And I heard ^(FL)the altar saying, “Yes, ^(FM)Lord God, the Almighty, ^(FN)true and righteous are Your judgments.”

⁸ And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon ^(FO)the sun, ^(FP)and it was given power to scorch people with fire. ⁹ And the people were scorched with ^[av]fierce heat; and they ^(FQ)blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they ^(FR)did not repent so as to ^(FS)give Him glory.

¹⁰ And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the ^(FT)throne of the beast, and his kingdom became ^(FU)darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, ¹¹ and they ^(FV)blasphemed the ^(FW)God of heaven because of their pain and their ^(FX)sores; and they ^(FY)did not repent of their deeds.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the ^(FZ)great river, the Euphrates; and ^(GA)its water was dried up, so that ^(GB)the way would be prepared for the kings ^(GC)from the ^[aw]east.

Har-Magedon (Armageddon)

¹³ And I saw coming out of the mouth of the ^(GD)dragon, and out of the mouth of the ^(GE)beast, and out of the mouth of the ^(GF)false prophet, three ^(GG)unclean spirits like ^(GH)frogs; ¹⁴ for they are ^(GI)spirits of demons, ^(GJ)performing signs, which go out to the kings of the ^(GK)entire ^[ax]world, to ^(GL)gather them together for the war of the ^(GM)great day of God, the Almighty. ¹⁵ (“Behold, ^(GN)I am coming like a thief. ^(GO)Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, ^(GP)so that he will not walk about naked and people will not see his shame.”) ¹⁶ And they ^(GQ)gathered them together to the place which ^(GR)in Hebrew is called ^(GS)Har-Magedon.

The Seventh Bowl of Wrath

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon ^(GT)the air, and a ^(GU)loud voice came out of the ^[ay](GV)temple from the throne, saying, “^(GW)It is done.” ¹⁸ And there were flashes of ^(GX)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was ^(GY)a great earthquake, ^(GZ)such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. ^19 (HA)The great city ^[az]was split into three parts, and the cities of the ^[ba]nations fell. ^(HB)Babylon the great was ^(HC)remembered in the sight of God, to give her ^(HD)the cup of the wine of ^[bb]His fierce wrath. ²⁰ And ^(HE)every island fled, and no mountains were found. ²¹ And ^(HF)huge ^[bc]hailstones, weighing about ^[bd]a talent each, *came down from heaven upon people; and people ^(HG)blasphemed God because of the ^(HH)plague of the hail, because ^[be]the hailstone plague *was extremely ^[bf]severe.