1 Chronicles 24

David Organizes the Priests

¹The divisions of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of iAaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²jBut Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests. ³With the help of kZadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service. ⁴Since more chief men were found among the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of Ithamar, they organized them under sixteen heads of fathers' houses of the sons of Eleazar, and eight of the sons of Ithamar. ⁵They divided them lby lot, all alike, for there were sacred officers and officers of God among both the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. ⁶And the scribe Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the princes and Zadok the priest and mAhimelech the son of Abiathar and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites, one father's house being chosen for Eleazar and one chosen for Ithamar.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to nAbijah, ¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 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 Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹These had as their appointed duty in their service oto come into the house of the Lord according to the procedure established for them by Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

²⁰And of the rest of the sons of Levi: pof the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. ²¹qOf Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief. ²²Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. ²³rThe sons of Hebron:1 Jeriah the chief,2 Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴sThe sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. ²⁵The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ²⁶tThe sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Jaaziah: Beno.3 ²⁷The sons of Merari: of Jaaziah, Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸Of Mahli: Eleazar, uwho had no sons. ²⁹Of Kish, the sons of Kish: Jerahmeel. ³⁰vThe sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers' houses. ³¹These also, the head of each father's house and his younger brother alike, wcast lots, just as their brothers the sons of Aaron, in the presence of King David, xZadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites.

1 Chronicles 25

David Organizes the Musicians

¹David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of yAsaph, and of zHeman, and of aJeduthun, who bprophesied with lyres, with charps, and with cymbals. The list of those who did the work and of their duties was: ²Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who bprophesied under the direction of the king. ³Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,1 Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, bwho prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. ⁴Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵All these were the sons of Heman dthe king's seer, according to the promise of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶They were all under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the Lord with cymbals, charps, and lyres for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the order of the king. ⁷The number of them along with their brothers, who were trained in singing to the Lord, all who were skillful, was e288. ⁸And they cast lots for their duties, fsmall and great, teacher and pupil alike.

⁹The first lot fell for Asaph to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, to him and his brothers and his sons, twelve; ¹⁰the third to Zaccur, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹¹the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁴the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁰to the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²¹to the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²²to the fifteenth, to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²³to the sixteenth, to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁴to the seventeenth, to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁵to the eighteenth, to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁶to the nineteenth, to Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁷to the twentieth, to Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁸to the twenty-first, to Hothir, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ²⁹to the twenty-second, to Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ³⁰to the twenty-third, to Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; ³¹to the twenty-fourth, to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brothers, twelve.

Shepherd the Flock of God

¹So I exhort the elders among you, mas a fellow elder and na witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ²oshepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,1 pnot under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;2 qnot for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³not rdomineering over those in your charge, but sbeing examples to the flock. ⁴And when tthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the uunfading vcrown of glory. ⁵Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. wClothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for x“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶xHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷ycasting all your anxieties on him, because zhe cares for you. ⁸aBe sober-minded; bbe watchful. Your cadversary the devil dprowls around elike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹fResist him, gfirm in your faith, knowing that hthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰And iafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, jwho has called you to his keternal glory in Christ, will himself lrestore, mconfirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹nTo him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹²By oSilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, pI have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is qthe true grace of God. rStand firm in it. ¹³She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does sMark, my son. ¹⁴tGreet one another with the kiss of love.

uPeace to all of you who are in Christ.

Rulers and Prophets Denounced

¹And I said:

lHear, you heads of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel!

mIs it not for you to know justice?—

²you nwho hate the good and love the evil,

owho tear the skin from off my people1

and their flesh from off their bones,

³pwho eat the flesh of my people,

and flay their skin from off them,

and break their bones in pieces

and chop them up like meat in a pot,

like flesh in a cauldron.

⁴qThen they will cry to the Lord,

but he will not answer them;

rhe will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have made their deeds evil.

⁵Thus says the Lord concerning sthe prophets

who lead my people astray,

twho cry “Peace”

when they have something to eat,

but declare war against him

who puts nothing into their mouths.

⁶Therefore uit shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without divination.

vThe sun shall go down on the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them;

⁷wthe seers shall be disgraced,

and the diviners put to shame;

xthey shall all cover their lips,

for ythere is no answer from God.

⁸But as for me, zI am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the Lord,

and with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob ahis transgression

and to Israel his sin.

⁹bHear this, you heads of the house of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel,

cwho detest justice

and make crooked all that is straight,

¹⁰dwho build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with iniquity.

¹¹eIts heads give judgment for a bribe;

fits priests teach for a price;

gits prophets practice divination for money;

hyet they lean on the Lord and isay,

“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?

jNo disaster shall come upon us.”

¹²Therefore because of you

kZion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem lshall become a heap of ruins,

and mthe mountain of the house na wooded height.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

¹In the meantime, twhen so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, u“Beware of vthe leaven of the Pharisees, wwhich is hypocrisy. ²xNothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ³Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in yprivate rooms shall be proclaimed on zthe housetops.

Have No Fear

⁴“I tell you, my friends, ado not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him bwho, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.1 Yes, I tell you, fear him! ⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?2 And cnot one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷Why, deven the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; eyou are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

⁸“And I tell you, feveryone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge gbefore the angels of God, ⁹but hthe one who denies me before men iwill be denied gbefore the angels of God. ¹⁰And jeveryone who speaks a word kagainst the Son of Man lwill be forgiven, but the one who mblasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹nAnd when they obring you before the synagogues and pthe rulers and pthe authorities, qdo not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ¹²rfor the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³sSomeone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But he said to him, t“Man, uwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵And he said to them, v“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, w“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, x‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ybarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up zfor many years; relax, aeat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰But God said to him, b‘Fool! zThis night cyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, dwhose will they be?’ ²¹So is the one ewho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

²²And he said to his disciples, f“Therefore I tell you, gdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴hConsider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. iOf how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his jspan of life?3 ²⁶If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,4 yet I tell you, keven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, lO you of little faith! ²⁹And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor mbe worried. ³⁰For nall the nations of the world seek after these things, and nyour Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, oseek phis5 kingdom, qand these things will be added to you.

³²r“Fear not, little sflock, for tit is your Father's good pleasure to give you uthe kingdom. ³³vSell your possessions, and wgive to the needy. xProvide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ya treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴zFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

³⁵a“Stay dressed for action6 and bkeep your lamps burning, ³⁶and be like men who are cwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and dknocks. ³⁷eBlessed are those servants7 whom the master finds eawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, fhe will dress himself for service and ghave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ³⁹hBut know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ithe thief was coming, he8 would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be jready, for kthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹Peter said, “Lord, lare you telling this parable for us or for all?” ⁴²And the Lord said, “Who then is mthe faithful and mwise nmanager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? ⁴³oBlessed is that servant9 whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴Truly, I say to you, phe will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁵But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master qis delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and rget drunk, ⁴⁶the master of that servant will come son a day when he does not expect him and sat an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷tAnd that servant who uknew his master's will but vdid not get ready uor act according to his will, will receive a wsevere beating. ⁴⁸xBut the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ywill receive a light beating. zEveryone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Not Peace, but Division

⁴⁹a“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! ⁵⁰bI have a baptism to be baptized with, and how cgreat is my distress until it is accomplished! ⁵¹dDo you think that I have come to give peace on earth? eNo, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵²For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³They will be divided, ffather against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴He also said to the crowds, g“When you see ha cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. ⁵⁵And gwhen you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be iscorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! jYou know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settle with Your Accuser

⁵⁷“And why kdo you not judge lfor yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸mAs you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. ⁵⁹I tell you, nyou will never get out until you have paid the very last openny.”10