The Daily Audio Bible

11 The leaders of the people took up residence in Yerushalayim; while the rest of the people cast lots to bring one-tenth of them to live in Yerushalayim the holy city, with the other nine-tenths in the other cities. ² The people blessed all those who volunteered to live in Yerushalayim.

³ In the cities of Y’hudah, everyone lived on his own property — the people of Isra’el, the cohanim, the L’vi’im, the temple servants and the descendants of Shlomo’s servants. But the leaders of the province lived in Yerushalayim. ⁴ Some of those living in Yerushalayim were from people of Y’hudah, and others were from people of Binyamin. Those from the people of Y’hudah were: ‘Atayah the son of ‘Uziyah, the son of Z’kharyah, the son of Amaryah, the son of Sh’fatyah, the son of Mahalal’el, from the descendants of Peretz; ⁵ and Ma‘aseiyah the son of Barukh, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazayah, the son of ‘Adayah, the son of Yoyariv, the son of Z’kharyah, who belonged to the family of Shelah. ⁶ The total number of descendants of Peretz living in Yerushalayim was 468 courageous men.

⁷ These are the people of Binyamin: Salu the son of Meshulam, the son of Yo‘ed, the son of P’dayah, the son of Kolayah, the son of Ma‘aseiyah, the son of Iti’el, the son of Yesha‘yah. ⁸ After him: Gabai, Salai; 928 in all. ⁹ Yo’el the son of Zikhri was their overseer, and Y’hudah the son of Hasnu’ah was second in charge of the city.

¹⁰ From the cohanim: Y’da‘yah the son of Yoyariv, Yakhin, ¹¹ S’rayah the son of Hilkiyah, the son of Meshulam, the son of Tzadok, the son of M’rayot, the son of Achituv, the supervisor of the house of God, ¹² and their kinsmen who did the work for the house; in all 822; and ‘Adayah the son of Yerocham, the son of P’lalyah, the son of Amtzi, the son of Z’kharyah, the son of Pash’chur, the son of Malkiyah; ¹³ with his kinsmen, heads of fathers’ clans, 242; and ‘Amash’sai the son of ‘Azar’el, the son of Achzai, the son of Meshillemot, the son of Immer; ¹⁴ with his kinsmen, courageous men, 128; their overseer was Zavdi’el the son of HaG’dolim.

¹⁵ From the L’vi’im: Sh’ma‘yah the son of Hashuv, the son of ‘Azrikam, the son of Hashavyah, the son of Buni, ¹⁶ and Shabtai and Yozavad, from the leaders of the L’vi’im, who were in charge of external affairs for the house of God; ¹⁷ and Matanyah the son of Mikha, the son of Zavdi, the son of Asaf, the leader who began the thanksgiving prayer; and Bakbukyah, the second among his kinsmen; and ‘Avda the son of Shamua, the son of Galal, the son of Y’dutun. ¹⁸ All the L’vi’im in the holy city numbered 284.

¹⁹ The gatekeepers: ‘Akuv, Talmon and their kinsmen, who kept watch at the gates, numbered 172.

²⁰ The rest of Isra’el, [the rest of] the cohanim and [the rest of] the L’vi’im were in all the cities of Y’hudah, each on his own property.

²¹ The temple servants lived in the ‘Ofel; Tzicha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.

²² The overseer of the L’vi’im in Yerushalayim was ‘Uzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashavyah, the son of Matanyah, the son of Mikha, from the descendants of Asaf the singers; [he was] in charge of the work of the house of God. ²³ For they were subject to the king’s orders; and there was a fixed schedule for the singers, assigning them their daily duties. ²⁴ P’tachyah the son of Mesheizav’el, from the descendants of Zerach the son of Y’hudah, was the king’s deputy in all affairs concerning the people.

²⁵ As for the villages and their surrounding fields: some of the people of Y’hudah lived in Kiryat-Arba and its villages, in Divon and its villages, in Y’kabze’el and its villages, ²⁶ in Yeshua, in Moladah, in Beit-Pelet, ²⁷ in Hatzar-Shu‘al and its villages, in Be’er-Sheva and its villages, ²⁸ in Ziklag, in M’khonah and its villages, ²⁹ in ‘Ein-Rimmon, in Tzor‘ah, in Yarmut, ³⁰ Zanoach, Adulam and their villages, in Lakhish and its surrounding fields, and in ‘Azekah and its villages. Thus they occupied the territory from Be’er-Sheva as far as the Hinnom Valley.

³¹ The people of Binyamin lived from Geva onward, in Mikhmas and ‘Ayah, in Beit-El and its villages, ³² and in ‘Anatot, Nov, ‘Ananyah, ³³ Hatzor, Ramah, Gittayim, ³⁴ Hadid, Tzvo‘im, N’valat, ³⁵ Lud, Ono and Gei-Harashim.

³⁶ Of the L’vi’im, some divisions from Y’hudah settled in Binyamin.

12 These are the cohanim and L’vi’im who went up with Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el, and Yeshua: S’rayah, Yirmeyah, ‘Ezra, ² Amaryah, Malukh, Hatush, ³ Sh’khanyah, Rechum, M’remot, ⁴ ‘Iddo, Gintoi, Achiyah, ⁵ Miyamin, Ma‘adiyah, Bilgah, ⁶ Sh’ma‘yah, Yoyariv, Y’da‘yah, ⁷ Salu, ‘Amok, Hilkiyah and Y’da‘yah. These were the leaders of the cohanim and their kinsmen during the time of Yeshua.

⁸ The L’vi’im: Yeshua, Binui, Kadmi’el, Sherevyah, Y’hudah and Mattanyah, who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his kinsmen, ⁹ with Bakbukyah and ‘Uni, their kinsmen, singing antiphonally with them in the service.

¹⁰ Yeshua was the father of Yoyakim, Yoyakim was the father of Elyashiv, Elyashiv was the father of Yoyada, ¹¹ Yoyada was the father of Yonatan, and Yonatan was the father of Yadua.

¹² In the days of Yoyakim these were the cohanim who were heads of fathers’ clans: of S’rayah, M’rayah; of Yirmeyah, Hananyah; ¹³ of ‘Ezra, Meshulam; of Amaryah, Y’hochanan; ¹⁴ of M’likhu, Yonatan; of Sh’vanyah, Yosef; ¹⁵ of Harim, ‘Adna; of M’rayot, Helkai; ¹⁶ of ‘Iddo, Z’kharyah; of Ginton, Meshulam; ¹⁷ of Achiyah, Zikhri; of Minyamin, of Mo‘adyah, Piltai; ¹⁸ of Bilgai, Shamua; of Sh’ma‘yah, Y’honatan; ¹⁹ of Yoyariv, Matnai; of Y’da‘yah, ‘Uzi; ²⁰ of Salai, Kallai; of ‘Amok, ‘Ever; ²¹ of Hilkiyah, Hashavyah; and of Y’da‘yah, N’tan’el.

²² As for the L’vi’im, the heads of fathers’ clans in the days of Elyashiv, Yoyada, Yochanan and Yadua were recorded; also the cohanim, up to the reign of Daryavesh the Persian. ²³ The descendants of Levi who were heads of fathers’ clans were recorded in the annals until the days of Yochanan the [grand]son of Elyashiv. ²⁴ The chiefs of the L’vi’im were Hashavyah, Sherevyah and Yeshua the son of Kadmi’el, with their kinsmen in an antiphonal choir, to praise and give thanks, in accordance with the order of David the man of God, choir opposite choir.

²⁵ Mattanyah, Bakbukyah, ‘Ovadyah, Meshulam, Talmon and ‘Akuv were the gatekeepers who guarded the supplies kept at the gates. ²⁶ This was in the days of Yoyakim the son of Yeshua, the son of Yotzadak, and in the days of Nechemyah the governor and of ‘Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher.

¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends, run from idolatry! ¹⁵ I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. ¹⁶ The “cup of blessing” over which we make the b’rakhah — isn’t it a sharing in the bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah? The bread we break, isn’t it a sharing in the body of the Messiah? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many constitute one body, since we all partake of the one loaf of bread. ¹⁸ Look at physical Isra’el: don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? ¹⁹ So, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols has any significance in itself? or that an idol has significance in itself? ²⁰ No, what I am saying is that the things which pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice not to God but to demons; and I don’t want you to become sharers of the demons! ²¹ You can’t drink both a cup of the Lord and a cup of demons, you can’t partake in both a meal of the Lord and a meal of demons. ²² Or are we trying to make the Lord jealous? We aren’t stronger than he is, are we?

²³ “Everything is permitted,” you say? Maybe, but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permitted?” Maybe, but not everything is edifying. ²⁴ No one should be looking out for his own interests, but for those of his fellow. ²⁵ Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, ²⁶ for the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.^{[a] 27} If some unbeliever invites you to a meal, and you want to go, eat whatever is put in front of you without raising questions of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This meat was offered as a sacrifice,” then don’t eat it, out of consideration for the person who pointed it out and also for conscience’s sake — ²⁹ however, I don’t mean your conscience but that of the other person. You say, “Why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰ If I participate with thankfulness, why am I criticized over something for which I myself bless God?” ³¹ Well, whatever you do, whether it’s eating or drinking or anything else, do it all so as to bring glory to God. ³² Do not be an obstacle to anyone — not to Jews, not to Gentiles, and not to God’s Messianic Community. ³³ Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not looking out for my own interests but for those of the many, so that they may be saved;