Beginning
The Music Groups
25 David and the commanders of the army chose some men to preach. They chose some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. They were to preach God’s message and play harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is a list of the men who served in this way:
2 Asaph’s sons who served were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. King David chose Asaph to preach. And Asaph directed his sons.
3 Jeduthun’s sons who served were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah. There were six of them, and Jeduthun directed them. He preached. And he used a harp to give thanks and praise to the Lord.
4 Heman’s sons who served were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth. There were also Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer. And there were Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. 5 All these men were sons of Heman, David’s seer. God promised to make Heman strong. So Heman had many sons. God gave him 14 sons and 3 daughters. 6 Heman directed all his sons in making music for the Temple of the Lord. They used cymbals, lyres and harps. That was their way of serving in the Temple of God. And King David was in charge of Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman. 7 These men and their relatives from the Levites were trained in music. They were skilled in making music for the Lord. There were 288 of them. 8 Everyone threw lots to choose the time his family was to serve at the Temple. The young and the old had to throw lots. The teacher and the student had to throw lots.
9 First, 12 men were chosen from Joseph, his sons and relatives. Joseph was from the family of Asaph.
Second, 12 men were chosen from Gedaliah, his sons and relatives.
10 Third, 12 men were chosen from Zaccur, his sons and relatives.
11 Fourth, 12 men were chosen from Izri, his sons and relatives.
12 Fifth, 12 men were chosen from Nethaniah, his sons and relatives.
13 Sixth, 12 men were chosen from Bukkiah, his sons and relatives.
14 Seventh, 12 men were chosen from Jesarelah, his sons and relatives.
15 Eighth, 12 men were chosen from Jeshaiah, his sons and relatives.
16 Ninth, 12 men were chosen from Mattaniah, his sons and relatives.
17 Tenth, 12 men were chosen from Shimei, his sons and relatives.
18 Eleventh, 12 men were chosen from Azarel, his sons and relatives.
19 Twelfth, 12 men were chosen from Hashabiah, his sons and relatives.
20 Thirteenth, 12 men were chosen from Shubael, his sons and relatives.
21 Fourteenth, 12 men were chosen from Mattithiah, his sons and relatives.
22 Fifteenth, 12 men were chosen from Jerimoth, his sons and relatives.
23 Sixteenth, 12 men were chosen from Hananiah, his sons and relatives.
24 Seventeenth, 12 men were chosen from Joshbekashah, his sons and relatives.
25 Eighteenth, 12 men were chosen from Hanani, his sons and relatives.
26 Nineteenth, 12 men were chosen from Mallothi, his sons and relatives.
27 Twentieth, 12 men were chosen from Eliathah, his sons and relatives.
28 Twenty-first, 12 men were chosen from Hothir, his sons and relatives.
29 Twenty-second, 12 men were chosen from Giddalti, his sons and relatives.
30 Twenty-third, 12 men were chosen from Mahazioth, his sons and relatives.
31 Twenty-fourth, 12 men were chosen from Romamti-Ezer, his sons and relatives.
The Gatekeepers
26 These are the groups of the gatekeepers.
From the family of Korah, there was Meshelemiah and his sons. (Meshelemiah son of Kore was from Asaph’s family.) 2 Meshelemiah had sons. Zechariah was his first son. Jediael was his second son. Zebadiah was his third son. Jathniel was his fourth son. 3 Elam was his fifth son. Jehohanan was his sixth son, and Eliehoenai was his seventh son.
4 There were also Obed-Edom and his sons. Obed-Edom’s first son was Shemaiah. Jehozabad was his second son. Joah was his third son. Sacar was his fourth son. Nethanel was his fifth son. 5 Ammiel was his sixth son. Issachar was his seventh son, and Peullethai was his eighth son. God had blessed Obed-Edom with children.
6 Obed-Edom’s son Shemaiah also had sons. They were leaders in their father’s family because they were capable men. 7 Shemaiah’s sons were Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu and Semakiah. Elihu and Semakiah were skilled workers. 8 All these men were Obed-Edom’s descendants. They and their sons and relatives were capable men. They were strong enough to do the work. Obed-Edom had 62 descendants in all.
9 Meshelemiah had sons and relatives. They were skilled workers. In all, there were 18 sons and relatives.
10 These are the gatekeepers from the Merari family. Hosah had sons. Shimri was chosen to be in charge. He was not the oldest son, but his father chose him to be in charge. 11 Hilkiah was his second son. Tabaliah was his third son, and Zechariah was his fourth son. In all, Hosah had 13 sons and relatives.
12 These were the leaders of the groups of the gatekeepers. They had jobs for serving in the Temple of the Lord. Their relatives also had jobs in the Temple. 13 Each family was given a gate to guard. They were chosen by throwing lots. Young and old threw lots.
14 Meshelemiah was chosen by lot to guard the East Gate. Then lots were thrown for Meshelemiah’s son Zechariah. He was a wise counselor. He was chosen for the North Gate. 15 Obed-Edom was chosen for the South Gate. And Obed-Edom’s sons were chosen to guard the storehouse. 16 Shuppim and Hosah were chosen for the West Gate. They also were to guard the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road.
Guards stood side by side with guards. 17 Six Levites stood guard every day at the East Gate. Four Levites stood guard every day at the North Gate. Four Levites stood guard every day at the South Gate. And two Levites at a time guarded the storehouse. 18 There were two guards at the western court. And there were four guards on the road to the court.
19 These were the groups of the gatekeepers. They were from the families of Korah and Merari.
Other Leaders
20 Other Levites were responsible for taking care of the treasuries of the Temple of God. They were also responsible for the places where the holy things were kept.
21 Ladan was Gershon’s son. Ladan was the ancestor of several family groups. Jehiel was a leader of one of the family groups. 22 Jehiel’s sons were Zetham and his brother Joel. They were responsible for the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord.
23 Other leaders were chosen from the family groups of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 24 Shubael was the leader responsible for the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord. Shubael was the descendant of Gershom, who was Moses’ son. 25 These were Shubael’s relatives from Eliezer: Eliezer’s son Rehabiah, Rehabiah’s son Jeshaiah, Jeshaiah’s son Joram, Joram’s son Zicri and Zicri’s son Shelomith. 26 Shelomith and his relatives were responsible for everything that had been collected for the Temple. Things had been collected by King David and the heads of families. They had been collected by commanders of 1,000 men and of 100 men and other army commanders. 27 They also gave some of the things they had taken in wars. They gave them to be used in repairing the Temple of the Lord. 28 Shelomith and his relatives took care of all the holy things. Some had been given by Samuel the seer and Saul son of Kish. Some had been given by Abner son of Ner and Joab son of Zeruiah.
29 Kenaniah was from the Izhar family. He and his sons worked outside the Temple. They worked as officers and judges in different places in Israel.
30 Hashabiah was from the Hebron family. He and his relatives were responsible for the Lord’s work and the king’s business in Israel west of the Jordan River. There were 1,700 skilled men in Hashabiah’s group. 31 The history of the Hebron family shows that Jeriah was their leader. In David’s fortieth year as king, the records were searched. Some capable men of the Hebron family were found living at Jazer in Gilead. 32 Jeriah had 2,700 relatives who were skilled men. They were leaders of families. King David gave them the responsibility of directing the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. They took care of the Lord’s work and the king’s business for them.
Army Divisions
27 This is the list of the Israelite people who served the king in the army. Each division was on duty one month each year. There were leaders of families, commanders of 100 men, commanders of 1,000 men and other officers. Each division had 24,000 men.
2 Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division for the first month. There were 24,000 men in his division. 3 He was one of the descendants of Perez. Jashobeam was leader of all the army officers for the first month.
4 Dodai was in charge of the division for the second month. He was from the Ahohites. Mikloth was a leader in the division. There were 24,000 men in Dodai’s division.
5 The third commander was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. He was the commander for the third month. There were 24,000 men in Benaiah’s 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 was Asahel, the brother of Joab. He was the commander for the fourth month. Later, Asahel’s son Zebadiah took his place as commander. There were 24,000 men in his division.
8 The fifth commander was Shamhuth, from Izrah’s family. He was the commander for the fifth month. There were 24,000 men in his division.
9 The sixth commander was Ira son of Ikkesh. He was the commander for the sixth month. He was from the town of Tekoa. There were 24,000 men in his division.
10 The seventh commander was Helez. He was the commander for the seventh month. He was from the Pelonites and a descendant of Ephraim. There were 24,000 men in his division.
11 The eighth commander was Sibbecai. He was the commander for the eighth month. He was from Hushah and was from Zerah’s family. There were 24,000 men in his division.
12 The ninth commander was Abiezer, from the town of Anathoth. He was the commander for the ninth month. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. There were 24,000 men in his division.
13 The tenth commander was Maharai. He was the commander for the tenth month. He was from Netophah and was from Zerah’s family. There were 24,000 men in his division.
14 The eleventh commander was Benaiah. He was the commander for the eleventh month. He was from Pirathon and was from the tribe of Ephraim. There were 24,000 men in his division.
15 The twelfth commander was Heldai. He was the commander for the twelfth month. He was from Netophah and was from Othniel’s family. There were 24,000 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 the western half-tribe of Manasseh. 21 Iddo son of Zechariah was over the eastern half-tribe of 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 20 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 was in charge of the storehouses in the towns, villages and towers. He was the son of Uzziah.
26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers. They farmed the land.
27 Shimei was in charge of the vineyards. He was from the town of Ramah.
Zabdi was in charge of storing the wine that came from the vineyards. Zabdi was from Shepham.
28 Baal-Hanan was in charge of the olive trees and sycamore trees in the western mountain slopes. He was from Geder.
Joash was in charge of storing the olive oil.
29 Shitrai was in charge of the cows that fed in the Plain of Sharon. He was from Sharon.
Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the cows in the valleys.
30 Obil was in charge of the camels. He was an Ishmaelite.
Jehdeiah was in charge of the donkeys. He was from Meronoth.
31 Jaziz was in charge of the sheep. He was from the Hagrites.
All these men were the officers who took care of King David’s property.
32 Jonathan was David’s uncle. 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 was the king’s friend. He was from the Arkite people. 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.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.