⁶ Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and ^(A)gave them encouragement, saying,

²² And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites ^(A)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and ^(B)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

¹⁶ Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the ^(A)roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the ^(B)Water Gate ^(C)and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and ^(A)all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain.

¹⁴ These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(A)who willingly offered himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. ¹⁹ These served the king, besides ^(B)those the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

³ His soul ^[a]was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke ^[b]kindly to the young woman.

Ezra Reads and Explains the Law

8 Now all ^(A)the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was ^(B)in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the ^(C)scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. ² So Ezra the priest brought ^(D)the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding ^(E)on the first day of the seventh month. ³ Then he ^(F)read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate ^[a]from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

³ he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. ⁴ Over the division of the second month was ^[a]Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁵ The third captain of the army for the third month was ^(A)Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁶ This was the Benaiah who was ^(B)mighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son. ⁷ The fourth captain for the fourth month was ^(C)Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸ The fifth captain for the fifth month was ^[b]Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹ The sixth captain for the sixth month was ^(D)Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰ The seventh captain for the seventh month was ^(E)Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹ The eighth captain for the eighth month was ^(F)Sibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹² The ninth captain for the ninth month was ^(G)Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³ The tenth captain for the tenth month was ^(H)Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴ The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was ^(I)Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵ The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was ^[c]Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Leaders of Tribes

¹⁶ Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; over the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; ¹⁷ over the Levites, ^(J)Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok; ¹⁸ over Judah, ^(K)Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹ over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel; ²⁰ over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; ²¹ over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; ²² over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³ But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because ^(L)the Lord had said He would multiply Israel like the ^(M)stars of the heavens. ²⁴ Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for ^(N)wrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.

Other State Officials

²⁵ And Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king’s treasuries; and Jehonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. ²⁶ Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground. ²⁷ And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. ²⁸ Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. ²⁹ And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, ³¹ and Jaziz the ^(O)Hagrite was over the flocks. All these were the officials over King David’s property.

³² Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a ^[d]scribe; and Jehiel the ^[e]son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons. ^33 (P)Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and ^(Q)Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion. ³⁴ After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then ^(R)Abiathar. And the general of the king’s army was ^(S)Joab.