Beginning

David Gets Ready to Build the House of God

22 Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God. And this is the altar of burnt gifts for Israel.”

² David told his men to gather the strangers who were in the land of Israel. And he had servants cut stones to build the house of God. ³ He gave large amounts of iron to be used for making nails for the doors of the gates, and for making the parts that hold it all together. He gave more brass than could be weighed. ⁴ And he gave too many cedar trees to number. For the Sidonians and Tyrians brought many cut cedar trees to David. ⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is young and does not yet have much learning. And the house that is to be built for the Lord must be very beautiful. It must be very great, and well-known in all lands. So I will get things ready for it to be built.” David made many things ready for it before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon, and gave him the work of building a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, I had planned to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have taken much blood, and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house to My name, because you have poured so much blood upon the earth before Me. ⁹ See, a son will be born to you, who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace from all those who hate him on every side. His name will be Solomon. And I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He will build a house for My name. He will be My son, and I will be his father. I will make his throne in Israel last forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may the Lord be with you and help you to do well. May you build the house of the Lord your God just as He has said you would. ¹² Only, may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding. When He has you rule over Israel, may you keep the Law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Then you will do well, if you are careful to obey the Laws which the Lord gave to Israel by Moses. Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or troubled. ¹⁴ With much trouble I have made things ready for the house of the Lord. There is gold weighing as much as 100,000 men. There is silver weighing as much as 1,000,000 men. And there is too much brass and iron to weigh. I have made wood and stone ready, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ You have many servants and workmen who cut and build with stones and wood. There are men who are able to do every kind of work well. ¹⁶ Of the gold and silver and brass and iron, there is more than enough. So get ready and work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David told all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said to them, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? Has He not given you peace on every side? For He has given the people of the land into my hand. The land is put under my rule before the Lord and His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and soul to look to the Lord your God. Get ready and build the holy place of the Lord God. Then you may bring the special box with the Law of the Lord. You may bring the holy objects of God. And put them into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

The Work of the Levites

23 When David was an old man, he made his son Solomon king of Israel. ² He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, the religious leaders, and the Levites. ³ The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and older. Their number was 38,000. ⁴ Of these, 24,000 were to watch over the work of the Lord’s house. There were 6,000 who were leaders and men who were to judge. ⁵ There were 4,000 gate-keepers. And 4,000 were praising the Lord with the things for playing music that David had made. ⁶ David divided them into groups by the sons of Levi, Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

⁷ The sons of Gershon were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first, then Zetham and Joel, three in all. ⁹ The three sons of Shimei were Shelemoth, Haziel and Haran. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the first, and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were numbered together as one father’s house.

¹² The four sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. ¹³ The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart for holy work, he and his sons forever. They were to burn special perfume before the Lord, and do His work. And they were to pray for good to come to the people in the Lord’s name forever. ¹⁴ But the names of the sons of Moses the man of God were among the family of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The son of Gershom was Shebuel the leader. ¹⁷ The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the leader. Eliezer had no other sons. But Rehabiah had many sons. ¹⁸ The son of Izhar was Shelomith the leader. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first, and Isshiah the second.

²¹ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died and had no sons, only daughters. Their brothers the sons of Kish married them. ²³ The three sons of Mushi were Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth.

²⁴ These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses. They were the heads of the fathers’ houses of those whose names were numbered from twenty years old and older. They were to do the work of the Lord’s house. ²⁵ For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given peace to his people. And He lives in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ The Levites do not need to carry the meeting tent and all the parts for its work any longer.” ²⁷ For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered, from twenty years old and older. ²⁸ He said, “Their duties are to help Aaron’s sons with the work of the Lord’s house, in the open spaces and in the rooms. They are to make clean all the holy things, and do any work needed to be done in the house of God. ²⁹ They are to take care of the holy bread, the fine flour for a grain gift, and the bread without yeast. They are to take care of what is baked, and what is well mixed, of all the right amounts. ³⁰ They are to stand every morning and evening to thank and praise the Lord. ³¹ And they are to give all the burnt gifts to the Lord on the Days of Rest, the new moons, and the special days. They are to do this before the Lord all the time, by the number set by the Law. ³² In this way they are to take care of the meeting tent, the holy place, and help their brothers the sons of Aaron, for the work of the Lord’s house.

The Work of the Religious Leaders

24 These were the family groups of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² Nadab and Abihu died before their father died. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar became the religious leaders. ³ With the help of Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David divided them by their given duties. ⁴ More leaders were found from the sons of Eleazar than the sons of Ithamar. So they were divided in this way. There were sixteen heads of families of the sons of Eleazar. And there were eight heads of families of the sons of Ithamar. ⁵ They were divided by drawing names, all alike. For there were leaders of the holy place and leaders of God, from both the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶ The writer Shemaiah, the Levite son of Nethanel, wrote down their names. He wrote them in front of the king, the princes, Zadok the religious leader, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the families of the religious leaders and of the Levites. One family was taken for Eleazar, and one for Ithamar.

⁷ The first name drawn was Jehoiarib, the second Jedaiah, ⁸ the third Harim, the fourth Seorim, ⁹ the fifth Malchijah, the sixth Mijamin. ¹⁰ The seventh name was Hakkoz, the eighth Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth Jeshua, the tenth Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh Eliashib, the twelfth Jakim. ¹³ The thirteenth name was Huppah, the fourteenth Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth Bilgah, the sixteenth Immer. ¹⁵ The seventeenth name was Hezir, the eighteenth Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth Pethahiah, the twentieth Jehezkel. ¹⁷ The twenty-first name was Jachin, the twenty-second Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth Maaziah. ¹⁹ This was the way they were to come on duty to work in the Lord’s house. It was a rule given to them through their father Aaron, just as the Lord God of Israel had told him.

²⁰ The rest of the sons of Levi were Shubael of the sons of Amram, Jehdeiah of the sons of Shubael, ²¹ and Isshiah was the first of the sons of Rehabiah. ²² There was Shelomoth of the Izharites, and Jahath of the sons of Shelomoth. ²³ Of the sons of Hebron, there were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴ There was Micah of the sons of Uzziel, and Shamir of the sons of Micah. ²⁵ The brother of Micah was Isshiah. There was Zechariah of the sons of Isshiah. ²⁶ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. Jaaziah’s son was Beno. ²⁷ The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri. ²⁸ His son by Mahli was Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹ His son by Kish was Jerahmeel. ³⁰ And the sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites by their families. ³¹ The head of each family and his younger brother drew names just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did. They drew them in front of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the religious leaders and of the Levites.