Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 1 Chronicles
23 -26. Chapter 23 So when David was old and
full of days, he made his son Solomon king over
Israel, and he gathered together all the leaders
of Israel with the priests and the Levites. Now
the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty
years and above, and the number of individual
males was thirty -eight thousand. Of these, 24
,000 were to look after the work of the house
of the Lord. 6 ,000 were officers and judges,
4 ,000 were gatekeepers, and 4 ,000 praised the
Lord with musical instruments, which I made,
said David, for giving praise. Also David separated
them into divisions among the sons of Levi, Gershon,
Kohath, and Merori. Of the Gershonites, Ladan
and Shimei. The sons of Ladan, the first, Jehal,
then Jetham, and Joel. Three in all. the sons
of Shimei, Shelomit, Haziel, and Haran, three
in all. These were the heads of the fathers'
houses of Ladan, and the sons of Shimei, Jehat,
Zina, Jeush, and Berea. These were the four sons
of Shimei. Jehat was the first, and Ziza the
second. But Jeush and Berea did not have many
sons, therefore they were assigned as one father's
house. The sons of Kohath, Amram, Izar, Hebron,
and Uziel, four in all. The sons of Amram, Aaron
and Moses. And Aaron was set apart, he and his
sons forever, that he should sanctify the most
holy things, to burn incense before the Lord,
to minister to him, and to give the blessing
in his name forever. Now the sons of Moses, the
men of God, were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.
The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eleazar. Of
the sons of Gershon, Sheboel was the first. Of
the descendants of Eleazar, Rahabiyah was the
first, and Eliezer had no other sons, but the
sons of Rahabiyah were very many. Of the sons
of Izar, Shelomit was the first. Of the sons
of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the
second, Jehaziel the third, and Jechamim the
fourth. Of the sons of Uziel, Micah was the first,
and Jeshiah the second. The sons of Merari were
Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eliezer
and Kish. And Eleazar died and had no sons but
only daughters, and their brethren, the sons
of Kish, took them as wives. The sons of Mushi
were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three in all.
These were the sons of Levi by their fathers'
houses, the heads of the fathers' houses as they
were counted individually by the number of their
names, who did the work for the service of the
house of the Lord from the age of twenty years
and above. For David said, The Lord God of Israel
has given rest to his people, that they may dwell
in Jerusalem forever, and also to the Levites.
They shall no longer carry the tabernacle or
any of the articles for its service. For by the
last words of David, the Levites were numbered
from twenty years old and above, because their
duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service
of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in
the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things,
and the work of the service of the house of God.
both with the show bread and the fine flour for
the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes
and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed
and with all kinds of measures and sizes. Chapter
24 Now these are the divisions of the sons of
Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar,
and Etamar. And Nadab and Abihu died before their
father and had no children. Therefore Eliezer
and Itamar ministered as priests. Then David
with Zadok of the sons of Eliezer and Ahimelech
of the sons of Itamar divided them according
to the schedule of their service. There were
more leaders found of the sons of Eliezer than
of the sons of Itamar, and thus they were divided.
Among the sons of Eliezer were sixteen heads
of their fathers' houses and eight heads of their
fathers' houses among the sons of Itamar. Thus
they were divided by lot. one group as another,
for there were officials of the sanctuary and
officials of the house of God from the sons of
Eleazar and from the sons of Itamar. And a scribe,
Shimeiah, the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites,
wrote them down before the king, the leaders,
Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar,
and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests
and Levites, one father's house taken for Eleazar
and one for Itamar. Now the first lot fell to
Jehoiarab, the second to Jediah, the third to
Harim, The fourth to Seorim. The fifth to Malkijah.
The sixth to Mejamim. The seventh to Hakoz. The
eighth to Abijah. The ninth to Jeshua. The tenth
to Shekania. The eleventh to Eliashib. The twelfth
to Jakim. The thirteenth to Hupa. The fourteenth
to Jeshabib. The fifteenth to Bilga. The sixteenth
to Emer. The seventeenth to Hazir. The eighteenth
to Hapizes. The nineteenth to Pitaya. The twentieth...
to Jehezekiel, the twenty -first to Jashin, the
twenty -second to Gamul, the twenty -third to
Deliah, the twenty -fourth to Maaziah. This was
the schedule of their service for coming into
the house of the Lord according to their ordinance
by the hand of Aaron their father, as the Lord
God of Israel had commanded him. And the rest
of the sons of Levi, of the sons of Amram, Shubail,
of the sons of Shubail, Judea. Concerning Rahabiah,
of the sons of Rahabiah, the first was Eshiah.
Of the Israelites, Shilomot. Of the sons of Shilomot,
Jahad. Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the
first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third,
and Jechamim the fourth. Of the sons of Uziel,
Micah. Of the sons of Micah, Shamir. The brother
of Micah, Eshiah. Of the sons of Eshiah, Zechariah.
The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The
son of Jahaziah, Bino. The sons of Merari by
Jahaziah were Bino, Shoham, Zakor, and Ibri.
Of Mahli, Eliezer, who had no sons. Of Kish,
the son of Kish, Jeremiel. Also the sons of Mushi
were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. These were the
sons of the Levites according to their father's
houses. These also cast lots just as their brothers,
the sons of Aaron, did in the presence of King
David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the
father's houses of the priests and Levites, the
chief fathers. did just as their younger brethren.
Moreover, David and the captains of the army
separated for the service some of the sons of
Asaph, of Haman, and of Jedusun, who should prophesy
with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals.
And the number of the skilled men performing
their service was of the sons of Asaph, Zakur,
Joseph, Nathania, and Asharila. The sons of Asaph
were under the direction of Asaf, who prophesied
according to the order of the king. Of Jedusun,
the sons of Jedusun, Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshiah,
Shimei, Hashabiah, and Matithiah, six under the
direction of their father Jedusun, who prophesied
with a harp to give thanks and to praise the
Lord. Of Haman, the sons of Haman, Bukiah, Mataniah,
Uziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliatha,
All these were the sons of Haman, the king's
seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn.
For God gave Haman fourteen sons and three daughters.
All these were under the direction of their father
for the music in the house of the Lord, with
cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for
the service of the house of God. Asaph Jedusun
and Heman were under the authority of the king.
So the number of them with their brethren who
were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all
who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty
-eight. And they cast lots for their duty, the
small as well as the great, the teacher with
the student. Now the first lot for Asaph came
out for Joseph, the second for Gedalia, him with
his brethren and sons, twelve, the third for
Zakur, his sons and his brethren, twelve, the
fourth for Jizri, his sons and his brethren,
twelve. The fifth, for Nathania, his sons and
his brethren, twelve. The sixth, for Bukia, his
sons and his brethren, twelve. The seventh, for
Jisharela, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
The eighth, for Jishaya, his sons and his brethren,
twelve. The ninth, for Metania, his sons and
his brethren, twelve. The tenth, for Shimei,
his sons and his brethren, twelve. The eleventh,
for Azarel, His sons and his brethren, 12. The
12th for Hashabiah, His sons and his brethren,
12. The 13th for Shubayel, His sons and his brethren,
12. The 14th for Matatiah, His sons and his brethren,
12. The 15th for Jeromot, His sons and his brethren,
12. The 16th for Hananiah, His sons and his brethren,
12. The 17th for Joshbekasha, His sons and his
brethren, 12. The eighteenth, for Hanani, his
sons and his brethren, twelve. The nineteenth,
for Maloti, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
The twentieth, for Iliata, his sons and his brethren,
twelve. The twenty -first, for Hotir, his sons
and his brethren, twelve. The twenty -second,
for Gedalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
The twenty -third, for Mahaziot, his sons and
his brethren, twelve. The twenty -fourth, for
Romomti -Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
Chapter 26 Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers
of the Korahites, Meshulmeah the son of Kor,
of the sons of Asaph, and the sons of Meshulmeah
were Zechariah the firstborn, Jediah the second,
Zebadiah the third, Jethneel the fourth, Elam
the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elihunai the
seventh. Moreover, the sons of Obed -Edom were
Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second,
Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed
their father's houses because they were men of
great ability. The sons of Shemaiah were Otni,
Raphael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu
and Shemakiah were able men. All these were the
sons of Obed -Edom. They and their sons and their
brethren, able men with strength for the work.
62 of Obed -Edom. And Meshulamayah had sons and
brethren, 18 able men. Also Hosah of the children
of Merari had sons. Shemri the first, for though
he was not the firstborn, his father made him
the first. Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third,
Zechariah the fourth. All the sons and brethren
of Hosah were 13. Among 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. And they cast lots for
each gate, the small as well as the great, according
to their father's house. The lot for the east
gate fell to Shalemiah. Then they cast lots for
his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his
lot came out for the north gate, to Obed -Edom,
the south gate, and to his sons, the storehouse.
To Shupim and Hosah, the lot came out for the
west gate, with the shellacate gate on the ascending
highway. Watchmen opposite watchmen. On the east
were six Levites, on the north four each day,
on the south four each day, and for the storehouse
two by two. As for the parbar on the west, there
were four on the highway and two at the parbar.
These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among
the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari.
Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasuries
of the house of God and over the treasuries of
the dedicated things. The sons of Ladan, the
descendants of the Gershonites of Ladan, heads
of their fathers' houses, of Ladan the Gershonite.
Jehiel. The sons of Jehiel, Jetam and Joel, his
brother, were over the treasuries of the house
of the Lord. Of the Amramites, the Israelites,
the Hebronites, and the Uzielites, Shebol the
son of Gershon. the son of moses was overseer
of the treasuries and his brethren by eleazar
were rahabiah his son jeshaiah his son joram
his son zechri his son and shelomit his son this
shelomit and his brethren were over all the treasuries
of the dedicated things which king david and
the heads of the fathers houses the captains
over thousands and hundreds, and the captains
of the army had dedicated. Some of the spoils
won in battles they dedicated to maintain the
house of the Lord. And all that Samuel the 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 Shilomite
and his brethren. Of the Israelites, Shinnaniah
and his sons performed duties as officials and
judges over Israel outside Jerusalem. Of the
Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, 1 ,700
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. Among
the Hebronites, Jerijah 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, a jazzer of Gilead. And his brethren were
2 ,700 able men. I hope you enjoyed today's reading
as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing
you again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.