1 Chronicles 24–26

The Divisions of the Priests

24The divisions of the descendants of Aaron were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^y2But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ^z3Together with Zadok ^afrom the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the sons of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service. ⁴Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: 16 heads of ancestral houses were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral houses were from Ithamar’s. ⁵They ^bwere assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.

⁶The secretary, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the officers, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech ^cson of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites. One ancestral house was taken for Eleazar, and then one for Ithamar.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ^d

¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,

¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

¹⁷the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,

¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

²⁰As for the rest of Levi’s sons:

from Amram’s sons: Shubael;

from Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.

²¹From Rehabiah:

from Rehabiah’s sons: Isshiah was the first.

²²From the Izharites: Shelomoth;

from Shelomoth’s sons: Jahath.

²³Hebron’s ^efsons:

Jeriah the first, Amariah the second,

Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴From Uzziel’s sons: Micah;

from Micah’s sons: Shamir.

²⁵Micah’s brother: Isshiah;

from Isshiah’s sons: Zechariah.

²⁶Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi,

and from his sons, Jaaziah his son. ^g

²⁷Merari’s sons, by his son Jaaziah: ^h

Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

²⁸From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹From Kish, from Kish’s sons: Jerahmeel.

³⁰Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

Those were the sons of the Levites according to their ancestral houses. ³¹They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the sons of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family heads and their younger brothers alike. ⁱ

The Levitical Musicians

25David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, ^jand Jeduthun, who were to prophesy ^kaccompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals. ^lThis is the list of the men who performed their service:

²From Asaph’s sons:

Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under Asaph’s authority, who prophesied under the authority of the king.

³From Jeduthun: ^mJeduthun’s sons:

Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, ⁿHashabiah, and Mattithiah—six—under the authority of their father Jeduthun, prophesying to the accompaniment of lyres, giving thanks and praise to the Lord.

⁴From Heman: Heman’s sons:

Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵All these sons of Heman, the king’s seer, ^owere given by the promises of God to exalt him, ^pfor God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the Lord’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority. ⁷They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the Lord. ⁸They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil. ^q

⁹The first lot for Asaph fell to Joseph, his sons, and his brothers—12

to Gedaliah the second: him, his brothers, and his sons—12

¹⁰the third to Zaccur, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹¹the fourth to Izri, ^rhis sons, and his brothers—12

¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹⁴the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons, and his brothers—12

¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel, ^shis sons, and his brothers—12

¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁰the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons, and his brothers—12

²¹the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons, and his brothers—12

²²the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons, and his brothers—12

²³the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁴the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁵the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁶the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁷the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁸the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons, and his brothers—12

²⁹the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons, and his brothers—12

³⁰the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons, and his brothers—12

³¹and the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons, and his brothers—12.

The Levitical Gatekeepers

26The following were the divisions of the gatekeepers:

From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

²Meshelemiah had sons:

Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second,

Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,

³Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth,

and Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴Obed-edom also had sons:

Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second,

Joah the third, Sachar the fourth,

Nethanel the fifth, ⁵Ammiel the sixth,

Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth,

for God blessed him.

⁶Also, to his son Shemaiah were born sons who ruled over their ancestral houses because they were strong, capable men.

⁷Shemaiah’s sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad; his brothers Elihu and Semachiah were also capable men. ⁸All of these were among the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and brothers; they were capable men with strength for the work—62 from Obed-edom.

⁹Meshelemiah also had sons and brothers who were capable men—18.

¹⁰Hosah, ^tfrom the Merarites, also had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him as the first), ¹¹Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and brothers of Hosah were 13 in all.

¹²These divisions of the gatekeepers, under their leading men, had duties for ministering in the Lord’s temple, just as their brothers did. ¹³They cast lots for each gate according to their ancestral houses, young and old alike. ^u

¹⁴The lot for the east gate fell to Shelemiah. ^vThey also cast lots for his son Zechariah, an insightful counselor, and his lot came out for the north gate. ¹⁵Obed-edom’s was the south gate, and his sons’ lot was for the storehouses; ¹⁶it was the west gate and the gate of Shallecheth on the ascending highway for Shuppim and Hosah.

There were guards stationed at every watch. ¹⁷There were six Levites each day ^won the east, four each day on the north, four each day on the south, and two pair at the storehouses. ¹⁸As for the court on the west, there were four at the highway and two at the court. ¹⁹Those were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the sons of the Korahites and Merarites.

The Levitical Treasurers and Other Officials

²⁰From the Levites, Ahijah was in charge of the treasuries of God’s temple and the treasuries of what had been dedicated. ^x21From the sons of Ladan, who were the sons of the Gershonites through Ladan and were the heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli. ²²The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

²³From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: ²⁴Shebuel, a descendant of Moses’ son Gershom, was the officer in charge of the treasuries. ²⁵His relative through Eliezer: his son Rehabiah, his son Jeshaiah, his son Joram, his son Zichri, and his son Shelomith. ^y26This Shelomith ^zand his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries of what had been dedicated by King David, ^aby the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders. ²⁷They dedicated part of the plunder from their battles for the repair of the Lord’s temple. ²⁸All that Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah had dedicated, along with everything else that had been dedicated, were in the care of Shelomith ^band his brothers.

²⁹From the Izrahites: Chenaniah and his sons had the outside duties ^cas officers and judges ^dover Israel. ³⁰From the Hebronites: Hashabiah ^eand his relatives, 1,700 capable men, had assigned duties in Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the Lord and for the service of the king. ³¹From the Hebronites: Jerijah ^fwas the head of the Hebronites, according to the genealogical records of his ancestors. A search was made in the fortieth year of David’s reign and strong, capable men were found among them at Jazer ^gin Gilead. ³²There were among Jerijah’s relatives, 2,700 capable men who were heads of families. King David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh as overseers in every matter relating to God and the king. ^h