1 Chronicles 26–28

The Temple Guards

26These are the assignments of work for the Levites who served as temple guards. From the clan of Korah there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Asaph. ²He had seven sons, listed in order of age: Zechariah, Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel, ³Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

^4*There was also Obed Edom, whom God blessed by giving him eight sons, listed in order of age: Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sachar, Nethanel, ^5*Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai.

^6–7Obed Edom’s eldest son, Shemaiah, had six sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu, and Semachiah. They were important men in their clan because of their great ability; the last two were especially talented.

⁸Obed Edom’s family furnished a total of 62 highly qualified men for this work.

⁹Meshelemiah’s family furnished eighteen qualified men.

¹⁰From the clan of Merari there was Hosah, who had four sons: Shimri (his father made him the leader, even though he was not the eldest son), ¹¹Hilkiah, Tebaliah, and Zechariah. In all there were thirteen members of Hosah’s family who were temple guards.

¹²The temple guards were divided into groups, according to families, and they were assigned duties in the Temple, just as the other Levites were. ¹³Each family, regardless of size, drew lots to see which gate it would be responsible for. ¹⁴Shelemiah drew the east gate, and his son Zechariah, a man who always gave good advice, drew the north gate. ¹⁵Obed Edom was allotted the south gate, and his sons were allotted to guard the storerooms. ¹⁶Shuppim and Hosah were allotted the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road. Guard duty was divided into assigned periods, one after another. ¹⁷On the east, six guards were on duty each day, on the north, four, and on the south, four. Four guards were stationed at the storerooms daily, two at each storeroom. ¹⁸Near the western pavilion there were four guards by the road and two at the pavilion itself. ¹⁹This is the assignment of guard duty to the clan of Korah and the clan of Merari.

Other Temple Duties

²⁰Others of their fellow-Levites^y were in charge of the temple treasury and the storerooms for gifts dedicated to God. ²¹Ladan, one of the sons of Gershon, was the ancestor of several family groups, including the family of his son Jehiel. ²²Ladan’s two other sons, Zetham and Joel, had charge of the temple treasury and storerooms.

²³Duties were also assigned to the descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁴Shebuel, of the clan of Moses’ son Gershom, was the chief official responsible for the temple treasury. ²⁵Through Gershom’s brother Eliezer he was related to Shelomith. Eliezer was the father of Rehabiah, who was the father of Jeshiah, the father of Joram, the father of Zichri, the father of Shelomith. ²⁶Shelomith and the members of his family were in charge of all the gifts dedicated to God by King David, the heads of families, leaders of clan groups, and army officers. ²⁷They took some of the loot they captured in battle and dedicated it for use in the Temple. ²⁸Shelomith and his family were in charge of everything that had been dedicated for use in the Temple, including the gifts brought by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, by Abner son of Ner, and by Joab son of Zeruiah.

Duties of Other Levites

²⁹Among the descendants of Izhar, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned administrative duties: keeping records and settling disputes for the people of Israel.

³⁰Among the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and 1,700 of his relatives, all outstanding men, were put in charge of the administration of all religious and civil matters in Israel west of the River Jordan. ³¹Jeriah was the leader of the descendants of Hebron. In the 40th year that David was king, an investigation was made of the family line of Hebron’s descendants, and outstanding soldiers belonging to this family were found living at Jazer in the territory of Gilead. ³²King David chose 2,700 outstanding heads of families from Jeriah’s relatives and put them in charge of administering all religious and civil matters in Israel east of the River Jordan—the territories of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

Military and Civil Organizations

27This is the list of the Israelite heads of families and clan leaders and their officials who administered the work of the kingdom. Each month of the year a different group of 24,000 men was on duty under the commander for that month.

²The following were the commanders for each month:

First month: Jashobeam son of Zabdiel ³(he was a member of the clan of Perez, a part of the tribe of Judah);

⁴Second month: Dodai, a descendant of Ahohi (Mikloth was his second in command);^z

⁵Third month: Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest; ⁶he was the leader of “The Thirty” (his son Amizzabad succeeded him as commander of this group);

⁷Fourth month: Asahel, brother of Joab (his son Zebadiah succeeded him);

⁸Fifth month: Shamhuth, a descendant of Izhar;

⁹Sixth month: Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa;

¹⁰Seventh month: Helez, an Ephraimite from Pelon;

¹¹Eighth month: Sibbecai from Hushah (he was a member of the clan of Zerah, a part of the tribe of Judah);

¹²Ninth month: Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin;

¹³Tenth month: Maharai from Netophah (he was a member of the clan of Zerah);

¹⁴Eleventh month: Benaiah from Pirathon in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim;

¹⁵Twelfth month: Heldai from Netophah (he was a descendant of Othniel).

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

^16–22This is the list of the administrators of the tribes of Israel:

TribeAdministrator

ReubenEliezer son of Zichri

SimeonShephatiah son of Maacah

LeviHashabiah son of Kemuel

AaronZadok

JudahElihu, one of King David’s brothers

IssacharOmri son of Michael

ZebulunIshmaiah son of Obadiah

NaphtaliJeremoth son of Azriel

EphraimHoshea son of Azaziah

West ManassehJoel son of Pedaiah

East ManassehIddo son of Zechariah

BenjaminJaasiel son of Abner

DanAzarel son of Jeroham

^23*King David did not take a census of the people who were under the age of twenty, because of the Lord’s promise to make the people of Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. ^24*Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, began to take a census, but he did not complete it. God punished Israel because of this census, so the final figures were never recorded in King David’s official records.

Administration of the Royal Property

²⁵This is the list of those who administered the royal property:

Royal storerooms: Azmaveth son of Adiel;

Local storerooms: Jonathan son of Uzziah;

²⁶Farm labour: Ezri son of Chelub;

²⁷Vineyards: Shimei from Ramah;

Wine cellars: Zabdi from Shepham;

²⁸Olives and sycomore trees (in the western foothills): Baal Hanan from Geder;

Olive oil storage: Joash;

²⁹Cattle in the Plain of Sharon: Shirtai from Sharon;

Cattle in the valleys: Shaphat son of Adlai;

^30–31Camels: Obil, an Ishmaelite;

Donkeys: Jehdeiah from Meronoth;

Sheep and goats: Jaziz, a Hagrite.

David’s Personal Advisers

³²Jonathan, King David’s uncle, was a skilful adviser and a scholar. He and Jehiel son of Hachmoni were in charge of the education of the king’s sons. ³³Ahithophel was adviser to the king, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend and counsellor. ³⁴After Ahithophel died, Abiathar and Jehoiada son of Benaiah became advisers. Joab was commander of the royal army.

David’s Instructions for the Temple

28King David commanded all the officials of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. So all the officials of the tribes, the officials who administered the work of the kingdom, the leaders of the clans, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons—indeed all the palace officials, leading soldiers, and important men—gathered in Jerusalem.

^2*David stood before them and addressed them: “My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the Lord our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honour him, ^3*but he has forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and have shed too much blood. ^4*The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel for ever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father’s family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel. ^5*He gave me many sons, and out of them all he chose Solomon to rule over Israel, the Lord’s kingdom.

^6*“The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ^7*I will make his kingdom last for ever if he continues to obey carefully all my laws and commands as he does now.’

⁸“So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the Lord’s people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the Lord our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations for ever.”

⁹And to Solomon he said, “My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father’s God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you for ever. ¹⁰You must realize that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”

¹¹David gave Solomon the plans for all the temple buildings, for the storerooms and all the other rooms, and for the Most Holy Place, where sins are forgiven. ¹²He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ¹³David also gave him the plans for organizing the priests and Levites to perform their duties, to do the work of the Temple, and to take care of all the temple utensils. ¹⁴He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils, ¹⁵for each lamp and…