1 Chronicles 26–28

The Gatekeepers

26Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, ¹Meshelemiah the son of ^aKore, of the sons of ²Asaph. ²And the sons of Meshelemiah were ^bZechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴Moreover the sons of ^cObed-Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, ⁵Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him.

⁶Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability. ⁷The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men.

⁸All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, ^dable men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom.

⁹And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men.

¹⁰Also ^eHosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first), ¹¹Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

¹²Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the Lord. ¹³And they ^fcast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father’s house. ¹⁴The lot for the East Gate fell to ³Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate; ¹⁵to Obed-Edom the South Gate, and to his sons the ⁴storehouse. ¹⁶To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the ^gascending highway—watchman opposite watchman. ¹⁷On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the ⁵storehouse two by two. ¹⁸As for the ⁶Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar. ¹⁹These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari.

The Treasuries and Other Duties

²⁰Of the Levites, Ahijah was ^hover the treasuries of the house of God and over the treasuries of the ⁱdedicated ⁷things. ²¹The sons of ⁸Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: ⁹Jehieli. ²²The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord. ²³Of the ^jAmramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: ^24kShebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries. ²⁵And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and ^lShelomith his son.

²⁶This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things ^mwhich King David and the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. ²⁷Some of the ¹spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the Lord. ²⁸And all that Samuel ⁿthe seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren.

²⁹Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons ^operformed duties as ^pofficials and judges over Israel outside Jerusalem.

³⁰Of the Hebronites, ^qHashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the Lord, and in the service of the king. ³¹Among the Hebronites, ^rJerijah was head of the Hebronites according to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men ^sat Jazer of Gilead. ³²And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the ^taffairs of the king.

The Military Divisions

27And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.

²Over the first division for the first month was ^aJashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand; ³he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. ⁴Over the division of the second month was ¹Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁵The third captain of the army for the third month was ^bBenaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁶This was the Benaiah who was ^cmighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son. ⁷The fourth captain for the fourth month was ^dAsahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸The fifth captain for the fifth month was ²Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹The sixth captain for the sixth month was ^eIra the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰The seventh captain for the seventh month was ^fHelez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹The eighth captain for the eighth month was ^gSibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹²The ninth captain for the ninth month was ^hAbiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³The tenth captain for the tenth month was ⁱMaharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was ^jBenaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was ³Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Leaders of Tribes

¹⁶Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; over the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; ¹⁷over the Levites, ^kHashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok; ¹⁸over Judah, ^lElihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel; ²⁰over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; ²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; ²²over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because ^mthe Lord had said He would multiply Israel like the ⁿstars of the heavens. ²⁴Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for ^owrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.

Other State Officials

²⁵And Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king’s treasuries; and Jehonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. ²⁶Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground. ²⁷And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. ²⁸Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. ²⁹And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. ³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, ³¹and Jaziz the ^pHagrite was over the flocks. All these were the officials over King David’s property.

³²Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a ⁴scribe; and Jehiel the ⁵son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons. ^33qAhithophel was the king’s counselor, and ^rHushai the Archite was the king’s companion. ³⁴After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then ^sAbiathar. And the general of the king’s army was ^tJoab.

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28Now David assembled at Jerusalem all ^athe leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and ^bthe captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and ^cthe stewards over all the substance and ¹possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all ^dthe mighty men of valor.

²Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: ^eI had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for ^fthe footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. ³But God said to me, ^g‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed ^hblood.’ ⁴However the Lord God of Israel ⁱchose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen ^jJudah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, ^kthe house of my father, and ^lamong the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. ^5mAnd of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) ⁿHe has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶Now He said to me, ‘It is ^oyour son Solomon who shall…