Army Divisions

27 This is the list of the Israelites who served the king in the army. Each division was on duty one month each year. There were leaders of families, commanders of a hundred men, commanders of a thousand men, and other officers. Each division had twenty-four thousand men.

² Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division for the first month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division. ³ Jashobeam, one of the descendants of Perez, was leader of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴ Dodai, from the Ahohites, was in charge of the division for the second month. Mikloth was a leader in the division. There were twenty-four thousand men in Dodai’s division.

⁵ The third commander, for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division. ⁶ He was the Benaiah who was one of the Thirty^[a] soldiers. Benaiah was a brave warrior who led those men. Benaiah’s son Ammizabad was in charge of Benaiah’s division.

⁷ The fourth commander, for the fourth month, was Asahel, the brother of Joab. Later, Asahel’s son Zebadiah took his place as commander. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁸ The fifth commander, for the fifth month, was Shamhuth, from Izrah’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁹ The sixth commander, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh from the town of Tekoa. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁰ The seventh commander, for the seventh month, was Helez. He was from the Pelonites and a descendant of Ephraim. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹¹ The eighth commander, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai. He was from Hushah and was from Zerah’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹² The ninth commander, for the ninth month, was Abiezer. He was from Anathoth in Benjamin. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹³ The tenth commander, for the tenth month, was Maharai. He was from Netophah and was from Zerah’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁴ The eleventh commander, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah. He was from Pirathon in Ephraim. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁵ The twelfth commander, for the twelfth month, was Heldai. He was from Netophah and was from Othniel’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

Leaders of the Tribes

¹⁶ These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. Eliezer son of Zicri was over the tribe of Reuben. Shephatiah son of Maacah was over the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁷ Hashabiah son of Kemuel was over the tribe of Levi. Zadok was over the people of Aaron. ¹⁸ Elihu, one of David’s brothers, was over the tribe of Judah. Omri son of Michael was over the tribe of Issachar. ¹⁹ Ishmaiah son of Obadiah was over the tribe of Zebulun. Jerimoth son of Azriel was over the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁰ Hoshea son of Azaziah was over the tribe of Ephraim. Joel son of Pedaiah was over West Manasseh. ²¹ Iddo son of Zechariah was over East Manasseh. Jaasiel son of Abner was over the tribe of Benjamin. ²² Azarel son of Jeroham was over the tribe of Dan.

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³ The Lord had promised to make the Israelites as many as the stars in the sky. So David only counted the men who were twenty years old and older. ²⁴ Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the people, but he did not finish. God became angry with Israel for counting the people, so the number of the people was not put in the history book about King David’s rule.

The King’s Directors

²⁵ Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, towns, villages, and towers.

²⁶ Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the land.

²⁷ Shimei, from the town of Ramah, was in charge of the vineyards.

Zabdi, from Shapham, was in charge of storing the wine that came from the vineyards.

²⁸ Baal-Hanan, from Geder, was in charge of the olive trees and sycamore trees in the western hills.

Joash was in charge of storing the olive oil.

²⁹ Shitrai, from Sharon, was in charge of the herds that fed in the Plain of Sharon.

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰ Obil, an Ishmaelite, was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah, from Meronoth, was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹ Jaziz, from the Hagrites, was in charge of the flocks.

All these men were the officers who took care of King David’s property.

³² Jonathan was David’s uncle, and he advised David. Jonathan was a wise man and a teacher of the law. Jehiel son of Hacmoni took care of the king’s sons. ³³ Ahithophel advised the king. Hushai, from the Arkite people, was the king’s friend. ³⁴ Jehoiada and Abiathar later took Ahithophel’s place in advising the king. Jehoiada was Benaiah’s son. Joab was the commander of the king’s army.