1 Chronicles 22; 1 Chronicles 23; 1 Chronicles 24

1 David announced, "The house of the LORD God will be built here. Israel's altar for burnt offerings will also be here."

2 David gave orders to bring together the outsiders who were living in Israel. He appointed some of them to cut stones. He wanted them to prepare blocks of stone for building the house of God.

3 David provided a large amount of iron to make nails. They were for the doors of the gates and for the fittings. He provided more bronze than anyone could weigh.

4 He also provided more cedar logs than anyone could count. The people of Sidon and Tyre brought large numbers of logs to David.

5 David said, "My son Solomon is young. He's never done anything like this before. The house that will be built for the LORD should be very grand and wonderful. It should be famous and beautiful in the eyes of all of the nations. I'll get things ready for it." So David got many things ready before he died.

6 Then he sent for his son Solomon. He told him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.

7 David said to Solomon, "My son, with all my heart I wanted to build a house for the LORD my God. That's where his Name will be.

8 But a message from the LORD came to me. It said, 'You have spilled the blood of many people. You have fought many wars. You are not the one who will build a house for my Name. That is because I have seen you spill the blood of many people on the earth.

9 " 'But you are going to have a son. He will be a man of peace. And I will give him peace and rest from all of his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon. I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king.

10 He will build a house for my Name. He will be my son. And I will be his father. I will make his kingdom secure over Israel. It will last forever.'

11 "My son, may the LORD be with you. May you have success. May you build the house of the LORD your God, just as he said you would.

12 May the LORD give you good sense. May he give you understanding when he makes you king over Israel. Then you will keep the law of the LORD your God.

13 "Be careful to obey the rules and laws the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Then you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don't be afraid. Don't lose hope.

14 "I've tried very hard to provide for the LORD's temple. I've provided 3,750 tons of gold and 37,500 tons of silver. I've provided more bronze and iron than anyone can weigh. I've also given plenty of wood and stone. You can add to it.

15 "You have a lot of workers. You have people who can cut stones and people who can lay the stones. You have people who can work with wood. You also have people who are skilled in every other kind of work.

16 Some of them can work with gold and silver. Others can work with bronze and iron. There are more workers than anyone can count. So begin the work. May the LORD be with you."

17 Then David ordered all of Israel's leaders to help his son Solomon.

18 He said to them, "The LORD your God is with you. He's given you peace and rest on every side. He's handed the people who are living in the land over to me. The land has been brought under the control of the LORD and his people.

19 "So look to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the temple of the LORD God. Then bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD into it. Also bring in the sacred articles that belong to God. The temple will be built for the Name of the Lord."

1 David had become very old. So he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2 He gathered together all of the leaders of Israel. He also gathered the priests and the Levites together.

3 The Levites who were 30 years old or more were counted. The total number of men was 38,000.

4 David said, "From them, 24,000 will direct the work of the LORD's temple. And 6,000 will be officials and judges

5 Another 4,000 will guard the gates. And 4,000 will praise the LORD with the instruments of music I've provided for that purpose."

6 David separated the Levites into groups. He did it based on the sons of Levi. The sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

7 Ladan and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon.

8 The sons of Ladan were Jehiel, Zetham and Joel. Jehiel was the oldest son. The total number of sons was three.

9 The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran. The total number of sons was three. They were the leaders of the families of Ladan.

10 The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. The total number of the sons of Shimei was four.

11 Jahath was the first son. Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah didn't have many sons. So they were counted as one family. They had only one task.

12 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The total number of sons was four.

13 Aaron and Moses belonged to Amram's family line. Aaron and his family line were set apart forever as the LORD's priests. They had the duty of setting the most holy things apart to the Lord. They offered sacrifices to the Lord. They served him. They gave blessings in his name forever.

14 The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi

15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

16 Shubael was the oldest son in the family line of Gershom.

17 Rehabiah was the oldest son in the family line of Eliezer. Eliezer didn't have any other sons. But Rehabiah had a great many sons.

18 Shelomith was the oldest son of Izhar.

19 Jeriah was the first son of Hebron. Amariah was his second son. Jahaziel was the third. Jekameam was the fourth

20 Micah was the first son of Uzziel. Isshiah was his second son.

21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish

22 Eleazar died without having any sons. All he had was daughters. They got married to their cousins. The cousins were the sons of Kish.

23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. The total number of sons was three.

24 Those were the family lines of Levi. They were recorded under the names of the family leaders. Each worker who was 20 years old or more was counted. They served in the LORD's temple.

25 David had said, "The LORD is the God of Israel. He has given peace and rest to his people. He has come to Jerusalem to live there forever.

26 So the Levites don't need to carry the holy tent anymore. They don't need to carry any of its articles anymore. Those were the articles that were used to serve there."

27 The Levites who were 20 years old or more were counted. That was in keeping with David's final directions.

28 The Levites had the duty of helping the members of Aaron's family line. They helped them serve in the LORD's temple. They were in charge of the courtyards and the side rooms. They made all of the sacred things pure and clean. They also had other duties at the house of God.

29 They were in charge of setting the holy bread out on the table. They prepared the flour for the grain offerings. They made the wafers without using any yeast. They did the baking and the mixing. They measured the amount and size of everything.

30 They stood every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They did the same thing every evening.

31 They also did it every time burnt offerings were brought to the Lord. Those offerings were brought every Sabbath day. They were also brought at every New Moon Feast and during the appointed yearly feasts. The Levites served in front of the LORD at regular times. The proper number of Levites was always used when they served. They served in the way the law required of them.

32 So the Levites carried out their duties for the Tent of Meeting and for the Holy Room. They worked under their relatives who were in the family line of Aaron. They helped them serve at the LORD's temple.

1 Here are the groups of priests the sons of Aaron were separated into. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did. They didn't have any sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests.

3 With the help of Zadok and Ahimelech, David separated the priests into groups. Each group served in its appointed order and time. Zadok belonged to the family line of Eleazar. Ahimelech belonged to the family line of Ithamar.

4 More leaders were found among Eleazar's family line than among Ithamar's. So the priests were separated into their groups based on that fact. There were 16 family leaders from Eleazar's line. There were eight family leaders from Ithamar's line.

5 The priests were separated into their groups by using lots. That was the fair way to do it. The priests were officials of the temple and officials of God. They came from the family lines of Eleazar and Ithamar.

6 Shemaiah was a Levite. He was the son of Nethanel. He was the writer who recorded the names of the priests. He wrote them down in front of the king and the officials. The officials included the priest Zadok and Ahimelech. Ahimelech was the son of Abiathar. They also included the leaders of the families of the priests and the Levites. One family was chosen by lot from Eleazar. Then one was chosen from Ithamar.

7 The 1st lot that was drawn out was for Jehoiarib. The 2nd was for Jedaiah.

8 The 3rd was for Harim. The 4th was for Seorim.

9 The 5th was for Malkijah. The 6th was for Mijamin.

10 The 7th was for Hakkoz. The 8th was for Abijah.

11 The 9th was for Jeshua. The 10th was for Shecaniah.

12 The 11th was for Eliashib. The 12th was for Jakim.

13 The 13th was for Huppah. The 14th was for Jeshebeab.

14 The 15th was for Bilgah. The 16th was for Immer.

15 The 17th was for Hezir. The 18th was for Happizzez.

16 The 19th was for Pethahiah. The 20th was for Jehezkel.

17 The 21st was for Jakin. The 22nd was for Gamul.

18 The 23rd was for Delaiah. The 24th was for Maaziah.

19 That was their appointed order for serving when they entered the LORD's temple. That order was based on the rules Aaron had given them long ago. Everything was done exactly as the LORD had commanded Aaron. The LORD is the God of Israel.

20 Here are the other members of the family line of Levi. From the sons of Amram came Shubael. From the sons of Shubael came Jehdeiah.

21 From the sons of Rehabiah came Isshiah. Isshiah was the oldest.

22 From the people of Izhar came Shelomoth. From the sons of Shelomoth came Jahath.

23 Jeriah was the first son of Hebron. Amariah was his second son. Jahaziel was the third. Jekameam was the fourth.

24 The son of Uzziel was Micah. From the sons of Micah came Shamir.

25 The brother of Micah was Isshiah. From the sons of Isshiah came Zechariah.

26 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah was Beno.

27 The sons of Merari from Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri.

28 From Mahli came Eleazar. Eleazar didn't have any sons.

29 From Kish came Jerahmeel. Jerahmeel was the son of Kish.

30 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. Those were the Levites, family by family.

31 They cast lots, just as their relatives, the sons of Aaron, had done. They did it in front of King David, Zadok and Ahimelech. They did it in front of the family leaders of the priests. They also did it in front of the family leaders of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated in the same way as the families of the youngest.