^25 (A)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, ^(B)according to the commandment of David, of ^(C)Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; ^(D)for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets.

¹⁴ And, according to the ^[a]order of David his father, he appointed the ^(A)divisions of the priests for their service, ^(B)the Levites for their duties (to praise and serve before the priests) as the duty of each day required, and the ^(C)gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate; for so David the man of God had commanded.

⁵ four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand ^(A)praised the Lord with musical instruments, ^(B)“which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

¹⁵ And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the ^(A)command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers ^(B)were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

The Musicians

25 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of ^(A)Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: ² Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and ^[a]Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were ^[b]under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. ³ Of ^(B)Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, ^[c]Zeri, Jeshaiah, ^[d]Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, ^[e]six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, ^[f]Uzziel, ^[g]Shebuel, ^[h]Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to ^[i]exalt his ^(C)horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶ All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and ^(D)harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were ^(E)under the authority of the king. ⁷ So the ^(F)number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.

⁴ And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to ^(A)commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then ^(B)Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals;

¹⁶ Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed ^(A)Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, ^(B)Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of their brethren, the sons of Merari, ^(C)Ethan the son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸ and with them their brethren of the second rank: Zechariah, ^[a]Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers; ¹⁹ the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound the cymbals of bronze; ²⁰ Zechariah, ^[b]Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with strings according to ^(D)Alamoth; ²¹ Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to direct with harps on the ^(E)Sheminith; ²² Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful;

³³ These are ^(A)the singers, heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night.

¹¹ Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(A)Gad, David’s ^(B)seer, saying,