The Divisions of Priests

1These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron:

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. 3With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. 4A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. 5They divided them impartially by casting lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

6The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

7The first lot fell to Jehoiarib,

the second to Jedaiah,

8the third to Harim,

the fourth to Seorim,

9the fifth to Malkijah,

the sixth to Mijamin,

10the seventh to Hakkoz,

the eighth to Abijah,

11the ninth to Jeshua,

the tenth to Shekaniah,

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 Jakin,

the twenty-second to Gamul,

18the twenty-third to Delaiah

and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

19This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

20As for the rest of the descendants of Levi:

from the sons of Amram: Shubael;

from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

21As for Rehabiah, from his sons:

Ishiah was the first.

22From the Izharites: Shelomoth;

from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

23The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first,Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

24The son of Uzziel: Micah;

from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

25The brother of Micah: Ishiah;

from the sons of Ishiah: Zechariah.

26The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

27The sons of Merari:

from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur and Ibri.

28From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

29From Kish: the son of Kish:

Jerahmeel.

30And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.

These were the Levites, according to their families. 31They also cast lots, just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

The Levites

1When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 3The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges. 5Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”

6David separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Gershonites

7Belonging to the Gershonites:

Ladan and Shimei.

8The sons of Ladan:

Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.

9The sons of Shimei:

Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.

These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10And the sons of Shimei:

Jahath, Ziza,Jeush and Beriah.

These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.

11Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.

Kohathites

12The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.

13The sons of Amram:

Aaron and Moses.

Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

15The sons of Moses:

Gershom and Eliezer.

16The descendants of Gershom:

Shubael was the first.

17The descendants of Eliezer:

Rehabiah was the first.

Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

18The sons of Izhar:

Shelomith was the first.

19The sons of Hebron:

Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

20The sons of Uzziel:

Micah the first and Ishiah the second.

Merarites

21The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli:

Eleazar and Kish.

22Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23The sons of Mushi:

Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.

24These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord. 25For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.” 27According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

28The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. 29They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. 30They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening 31and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

32And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.

Psalm 108

1My heart, O God, is steadfast;

I will sing and make music with all my soul.

2Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

3I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.

4For great is your love, higher than the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

6Save us and help us with your right hand,

that those you love may be delivered.

7God has spoken from his sanctuary:

“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem

and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.

8Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah is my scepter.

9Moab is my washbasin,

on Edom I toss my sandal;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

10Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us

and no longer go out with our armies?

12Give us aid against the enemy,

for human help is worthless.

13With God we will gain the victory,

and he will trample down our enemies.

Psalm 109

1My God, whom I praise,

do not remain silent,

2for people who are wicked and deceitful

have opened their mouths against me;

they have spoken against me with lying tongues.

3With words of hatred they surround me;

they attack me without cause.

4In return for my friendship they accuse me,

but I am a man of prayer.

5They repay me evil for good,

and hatred for my friendship.

6Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;

let an accuser stand at his right hand.

7When he is tried, let him be found guilty,

and may his prayers condemn him.

8May his days be few;

may another take his place of leadership.

9May his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow.

10May his children be wandering beggars;

may they be driven from their ruined homes.

11May a creditor seize all he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

12May no one extend kindness to him

or take pity on his fatherless children.

13May his descendants be cut off,

their names blotted out from the next generation.

14May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;

may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.

15May their sins always remain before the Lord,

that he may blot out their name from the earth.

16For he never thought of doing a kindness,

but hounded to death the poor

and the needy and the brokenhearted.

17He loved to pronounce a curse—

may it come back on him.

He found no pleasure in blessing—

may it be far from him.

18He wore cursing as his garment;

it entered into his body like water,

into his bones like oil.

19May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,

like a belt tied forever around him.

20May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,

to those who speak evil of me.

21But you, Sovereign Lord,

help me for your name’s sake;

out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.

22For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is wounded within me.

23I fade away like an evening shadow;

I am shaken off like a locust.

24My knees give way from fasting;

my body is thin and gaunt.

25I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they shake their heads.

26Help me, Lordmy God;

save me according to your unfailing love.

27Let them know that it is your hand,

that you, Lord, have done it.

28While they curse, may you bless;

may those who attack me be put to shame,

but may your servant rejoice.

29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace

and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.

30With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;

in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him.

31For he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

Psalm 110

1The Lord says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.”

2The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,

“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

3Your troops will be willing

on your day of battle.

Arrayed in holy splendor,

your young men will come to you

like dew from the morning’s womb.

4The Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind:

“You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek.”

5The Lord is at your right hand;

he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.

6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead

and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

7He will drink from a brook along the way,

and so he will lift his head high.

1I will exalt you, Lord,

for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,

and you healed me.

3You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;

you spared me from going down to the pit.

4Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;

praise his holy name.

5For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may stay for the night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

6When I felt secure, I said,

“I will never be shaken.”

7 Lord, when you favored me,

you made my royal mountain stand firm;

but when you hid your face,

I was dismayed.

8To you, Lord, I called;

to the Lord I cried for mercy:

9“What is gained if I am silenced,

if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

10Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;

Lord, be my help.”

11You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

1Then David said, “The house of the LordGod is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Preparations for the Temple

2So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

5David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

6Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

11“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

14“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

17Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LordGod, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”

David Counts the Fighting Men

1Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

3But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

4The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

6But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. 7This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

8Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

9The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, 10“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’ ”

11So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: 12three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

13David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

14So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunahthe Jebusite.

16David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

17David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd, have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

David Builds an Altar

18Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.

20While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

22David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

23Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

24But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

25So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. 26David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

27Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. 28At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. 29The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. 30But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Enrolls the Fighting Men

1Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

2So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

3But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

4The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

5After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. 7Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.

8After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

9Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.

10David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

11Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 12“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’ ”

13So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

14David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

15So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”

David Builds an Altar

18On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

21Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”

22Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23Your Majesty, Araunahgives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

24But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. 25David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.