HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 746
1 C H RO N I C L ES 2 4
19 The
descendants of Hebron included Jeriah
(the family leader), Amariah (the second),
Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the
fourth).
20 The descendants of Uzziel included Micah
(the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).
The Merarites
21 The descendants of Merari included Mahli
and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters.
His daughters married their cousins, the
sons of Kish.
23 Three of the descendants of Mushi were
Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
24 These were the descendants of Levi by clans,
the leaders of their family groups, registered
carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years
old or older to qualify for service in the house of
the Lord. 25 For David said, “The Lord, the God
of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always
live in Jerusalem. 26 Now the Levites will no longer
need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings
from place to place.” 27 In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty
years old or older were registered for service.
28 The work of the Levites was to assist the
priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served
at the house of the Lord. They also took care of
the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform
the ceremonies of purification, and served in
many other ways in the house of God. 29 They
were in charge of the sacred bread that was set
out on the table, the choice flour for the grain
offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the
cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed
breads. They were also responsible to check all
the weights and measures. 30 And each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to
sing songs of thanks and praise to him. 31 They
assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the Lord on Sabbath days, at new
moon celebrations, and at all the appointed
festivals. The required number of Levites served
in the Lord’s presence at all times, following all
the procedures they had been given.
32 And so, under the supervision of the
priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle
and the Temple* and faithfully carried out their
duties of service at the house of the Lord.
Duties of the Priests
This is how Aaron’s descendants, the
priests, were divided into groups for
service. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu,
Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 But Nadab and Abihu
died before their father, and they had no sons.
So only Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry
on as priests.
3 With the help of Zadok, who was a descen-
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dant of Eleazar, and of Ahimelech, who was a
descendant of Ithamar, David divided Aaron’s
descendants into groups according to their various duties. 4 Eleazar’s descendants were divided
into sixteen groups and Ithamar’s into eight, for
there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar.
5 All tasks were assigned to the various
groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many
qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. 6 Shemaiah son of Nethanel,
a Levite, acted as secretary and wrote down the
names and assignments in the presence of the
king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech
son of Abiathar, and the family leaders of the
priests and Levites. The descendants of Eleazar
and Ithamar took turns casting lots.
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The first lot fell to Jehoiarib.
The second lot fell to Jedaiah.
The third lot fell to Harim.
The fourth lot fell to Seorim.
The fifth lot fell to Malkijah.
The sixth lot fell to Mijamin.
The seventh lot fell to Hakkoz.
The eighth lot fell to Abijah.
The ninth lot fell to Jeshua.
The tenth lot fell to Shecaniah.
The eleventh lot fell to Eliashib.
The twelfth lot fell to Jakim.
The thirteenth lot fell to Huppah.
The fourteenth lot fell to Jeshebeab.
The fifteenth lot fell to Bilgah.
The sixteenth lot fell to Immer.
The seventeenth lot fell to Hezir.
The eighteenth lot fell to Happizzez.
The nineteenth lot fell to Pethahiah.
The twentieth lot fell to Jehezkel.
The twenty-first lot fell to Jakin.
The twenty-second lot fell to Gamul.
The twenty-third lot fell to Delaiah.
The twenty-fourth lot fell to Maaziah.
19 Each group carried out its appointed duties in the house of the Lord according to the
procedures established by their ancestor Aaron
in obedience to the commands of the Lord, the
God of Israel.
Family Leaders among the Levites
20 These were the other family leaders descended from Levi:
From the descendants of Amram, the leader
was Shebuel.*
From the descendants of Shebuel, the
leader was Jehdeiah.
23:32 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting and the sanctuary.
24:20 Hebrew Shubael (also in 24:20b), a variant spelling
of Shebuel; compare 23:16 and 26:24.