1 Chronicles 27–29

Army Divisions

27This is the list of the Israelites who served the king in the army. Each division was on duty one month each year. There were leaders of families, commanders of a hundred men, commanders of a thousand men, and other officers. Each division had twenty-four thousand men.

²Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division for the first month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division. ³Jashobeam, one of the descendants of Perez, was leader of all the army officers for the first month.

⁴Dodai, from the Ahohites, was in charge of the division for the second month. Mikloth was a leader in the division. There were twenty-four thousand men in Dodai’s division.

⁵The third commander, for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division. ⁶He was the Benaiah who was one of the Thirty ⁿ soldiers. Benaiah was a brave warrior who led those men. Benaiah’s son Ammizabad was in charge of Benaiah’s division.

⁷The fourth commander, for the fourth month, was Asahel, the brother of Joab. Later, Asahel’s son Zebadiah took his place as commander. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁸The fifth commander, for the fifth month, was Shamhuth, from Izrah’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁹The sixth commander, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh from the town of Tekoa. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁰The seventh commander, for the seventh month, was Helez. He was from the Pelonites and a descendant of Ephraim. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹¹The eighth commander, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai. He was from Hushah and was from Zerah’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹²The ninth commander, for the ninth month, was Abiezer. He was from Anathoth in Benjamin. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹³The tenth commander, for the tenth month, was Maharai. He was from Netophah and was from Zerah’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁴The eleventh commander, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah. He was from Pirathon in Ephraim. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁵The twelfth commander, for the twelfth month, was Heldai. He was from Netophah and was from Othniel’s family. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

Leaders of the Tribes

¹⁶These 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. ¹⁷Hashabiah son of Kemuel was over the tribe of Levi. Zadok was over the people of Aaron. ¹⁸Elihu, one of David’s brothers, was over the tribe of Judah. Omri son of Michael was over the tribe of Issachar. ¹⁹Ishmaiah son of Obadiah was over the tribe of Zebulun. Jerimoth son of Azriel was over the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁰Hoshea son of Azaziah was over the tribe of Ephraim. Joel son of Pedaiah was over West Manasseh. ²¹Iddo son of Zechariah was over East Manasseh. Jaasiel son of Abner was over the tribe of Benjamin. ²²Azarel son of Jeroham was over the tribe of Dan.

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³The Lord had promised to make the Israelites as many as the stars in the sky. So David only counted the men who were twenty years old and older. ²⁴Joab 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

²⁵Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, towns, villages, and towers.

²⁶Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the land.

²⁷Shimei, from the town of Ramah, was in charge of the vineyards.

Zabdi, from Shapham, was in charge of storing the wine that came from the vineyards.

²⁸Baal-Hanan, from Geder, was in charge of the olive trees and sycamore trees in the western hills.

Joash was in charge of storing the olive oil.

²⁹Shitrai, from Sharon, was in charge of the herds that fed in the Plain of Sharon.

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

³⁰Obil, an Ishmaelite, was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah, from Meronoth, was in charge of the donkeys.

³¹Jaziz, from the Hagrites, was in charge of the flocks.

All these men were the officers who took care of King David’s property.

³²Jonathan was David’s uncle, and 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. ³³Ahithophel advised the king. Hushai, from the Arkite people, was the king’s friend. ³⁴Jehoiada 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.

David’s Plans for the Temple

28David commanded all the leaders of Israel to come to Jerusalem. There were the leaders of the tribes, commanders of the divisions serving the king, commanders of a thousand men and of a hundred men, leaders who took care of the property and animals that belonged to the king and his sons, men over the palace, the powerful men, and all the brave warriors.

²King David stood up and said, “Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a place to keep the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord. I wanted it to be God’s footstool. So I made plans to build a temple. ³But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple for worshiping me, because you are a soldier and have killed many people.’

⁴“But the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king of Israel forever. He chose the tribe of Judah to lead, and from the people of Judah, he chose my father’s family. From that family God was pleased to make me king of Israel. ⁵The Lord has given me many sons, and from those sons he has chosen Solomon to be the new king of Israel. Israel is the Lord’s kingdom. ⁶The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards. I have chosen Solomon to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷He is obeying my laws and commands now. If he continues to obey them, I will make his kingdom strong forever.’ ”

⁸David said, “Now, in front of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of God, I tell you these things: Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Then you will keep this good land and pass it on to your descendants forever.

⁹“And you, my son Solomon, accept the God of your father. Serve him completely and willingly, because the Lord knows what is in everyone’s mind. He understands everything you think. If you go to him for help, you will get an answer. But if you turn away from him, he will leave you forever. ¹⁰Solomon, you must understand this. The Lord has chosen you to build the Temple as his holy place. Be strong and finish the job.”

¹¹Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for building the Temple and the courtyard around the Temple. They included its buildings, its storerooms, its upper rooms, its inside rooms, and the place where the people’s sins were removed. ¹²David gave him plans for everything he had in mind: the courtyards around the Lord’s Temple and all the rooms around it, the Temple treasuries, and the treasuries of the holy items used in the Temple. ¹³David gave Solomon directions for the groups of the priests and Levites. David told him about all the work of serving in the Temple of the Lord and about the items to be used in the Temple service ¹⁴that were made of gold or silver. David told Solomon how much gold or silver should be used to make each thing. ¹⁵David told him how much gold to use for each gold lampstand and its lamps and how much silver to use for each silver lampstand and its lamps. The different lampstands were to be used where needed. ¹⁶David told how much gold should be used for each table that held the holy bread and how much silver should be used for the silver tables. ¹⁷He told how much pure gold should be used to make the forks, bowls, and pitchers and how much gold should be used to make each gold dish. He told how much silver should be used to make each silver dish ¹⁸and how much pure gold should be used for the altar of incense. He also gave Solomon the plans for the chariot of the golden creatures that spread their wings over the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord.

¹⁹David said, “All these plans were written with the Lord guiding me. He helped me understand everything in the plans.”

²⁰David also said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and brave, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or leave you until all the work for the Temple of the Lord is finished. ²¹The groups of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the Temple of God. Every skilled worker is ready to help you with all the work. The leaders and all the people will obey every command you give.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29King David said to all the Israelites who were gathered, “God chose my son Solomon, who is young and hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know, but the work is important. This palace is not for people; it is for the Lord God. ²I have done my best to prepare for building the Temple of God. I have given gold for the things made of gold and silver for the things made of silver. I have given bronze for the things made of bronze and iron for the things made of iron. I have given wood for the things made of wood and onyx for the settings. I have given turquoise gems of many different colors, valuable stones, and white marble. I have given much of all these things. ³I have already given this for the Temple, but now I am also giving my own treasures of gold and silver, because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. ⁴I have given about two hundred twenty thousand pounds of pure gold from Ophir and about five…