1 Chronicles 22:1–24:31

22So David said, “This is where the Temple of the Lord God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.”

Preparations for Building the Temple

²King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. ³He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it. ⁴He arranged for the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring him a large number of cedar logs. ⁵David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.

⁶He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ^7*David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple to honour the Lord my God. ^8*But the Lord told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. ^9*He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon,^w because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. ^10*He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel for ever.’ ”

¹¹David continued, “Now, my son, may the Lord your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. ¹²And may the Lord your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. ^13*If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don’t let anything make you afraid. ¹⁴As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated more than 3,400 tonnes of gold and over 34,000 tonnes of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. ¹⁵You have many workmen. There are men to work in the stone quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of craftsmen of every sort who can work ¹⁶with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. ¹⁸He said, “The Lord your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the Lord. ¹⁹Now serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the Lord and all the other sacred objects used in worshipping him.”

The Work of the Levites

23^*When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

²King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites. ³He took a census of all the male Levites aged 30 or older. The total was 38,000. ⁴The king assigned 24,000 to administer the work of the Temple, 6,000 to keep records and decide disputes, ⁵4,000 to do guard duty, and 4,000 to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.

⁶David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel, ⁹who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.)^{x 10–11}Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.

¹²Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ^13*His eldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects for ever, to burn incense in the worship of the Lord, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name. ¹⁴But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.) ¹⁵Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶The leader among Gershom’s sons was Shebuel. ¹⁷Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

¹⁸Kohath’s second son, Izhar, had a son, Shelomith, the head of the clan. ¹⁹Kohath’s third son, Hebron, had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. ²⁰Kohath’s fourth son, Uzziel, had two sons, Micah and Isshiah.

²¹Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. Mahli also had two sons, Eleazar and Kish, ²²but Eleazar died without having any sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. ²³Merari’s second son, Mushi, had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, every one of them registered by name. Each of his descendants, twenty years of age or older, had a share in the work of the Lord’s Temple.

²⁵David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given peace to his people, and he himself will live in Jerusalem for ever. ^26*So there is no longer any need for the Levites to carry the Tent of the Lord’s presence and all the equipment used in worship.” ²⁷On the basis of David’s final instructions all Levites were registered for service when they reached the age of twenty, ^28*and were assigned the following duties: to help the priests descended from Aaron with the temple worship, to take care of its courtyards and its rooms, and to keep undefiled everything that is sacred; ^29*to be responsible for the bread offered to God, the flour used in offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the baked offerings, and the flour mixed with olive oil; to weigh and measure the temple offerings; ^30*and to praise and glorify the Lord every morning and every evening ^31*and whenever offerings to the Lord are burnt on the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and other festivals. Rules were made specifying the number of Levites assigned to do this work each time. The Levites were assigned the duty of worshipping the Lord for all time. ^32*They were given the responsibility of taking care of the Tent of the Lord’s presence and the Temple, and of assisting their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, in the temple worship.

The Work Assigned to the Priests

24These are the groups to which the descendants of Aaron belong. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^2*Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and left no descendants, so their brothers Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. ³King David organized the descendants of Aaron into groups according to their duties. He was assisted in this by Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and by Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar. ⁴The descendants of Eleazar were organized into sixteen groups, while the descendants of Ithamar were organized into eight; this was done because there were more male heads of families among the descendants of Eleazar. ⁵Since there were temple officials and spiritual leaders among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar, assignments were made by drawing lots. ⁶The descendants of Eleazar and of Ithamar took turns in drawing lots. Then they were registered by Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite secretary. The king, his officials, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of the priestly families and of the Levite families, were all witnesses.

^7–18This is the order in which the 24 family groups were given their assignments:

1, Jehoiarib;

2, Jedaiah;

3, Harim;

4, Seorim;

5, Malchijah;

6, Mijamin;

7, Hakkoz;

8, Abijah;

9, Jeshua;

10, Shecaniah;

11, Eliashib;

12, Jakim;

13, Huppah;

14, Jeshebeab;

15, Bilgah;

16, Immer;

17, Hezir;

18, Happizzez;

19, Pethahiah;

20, Jehezkel;

21, Jachin;

22, Gamul;

23, Delaiah;

24, Maaziah.

¹⁹These men were registered according to their assignments for going to the Temple and performing the duties established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the Lord God of Israel.

The List of the Levites

²⁰These are other heads of families descended from Levi:

Jehdeiah, a descendant of Amram through Shebuel;

²¹Isshiah, a descendant of Rehabiah;

²²Jahath, a descendant of Izhar through Shelomith;

²³Jeriah, Amariah, Jehaziel, and Jekameam, sons of Hebron, in order of age;

²⁴Shamir, a descendant of Uzziel through Micah;

²⁵Zechariah, a descendant of Uzziel through Isshiah, Micah’s brother;

²⁶Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah, descendants of Merari. ²⁷Jaaziah had three sons: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ^28–29Mahli had two sons, Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar had no sons, but Kish had one son, Jerahmeel. ³⁰Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

These are the families of the Levites.

³¹The head of each family and one of his younger brothers drew lots for their assignments, just as their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, had done. King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites were witnesses.