Chapter 24

David gives jobs to the priests

¹Aaron's descendants , the priests , were in the following groups.

Aaron's four sons were: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father died. They had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served God as priests.

³Zadok and Ahimelech helped David to put Aaron's descendants into groups. Zadok was a descendant of Eleazar. Ahimelech was a descendant of Ithamar. They told each group what their work would be to serve God.

⁴There were more leaders among Eleazar's descendants than among Ithamar's descendants. So from Eleazar's descendants, there were 16 groups with their leaders. From Ithamar's descendants there were eight groups with their leaders.

⁵They used lots to decide the work of each group. The families of both Eleazar and Ithamar included officers for the temple as well as priests.

⁶Shemaiah was the secretary who wrote down the names in each group. He was the son of Nethanel, a Levite. Shemaiah wrote down the names while the king and his officers watched. Zadok the priest, Abiathar's son Ahimelech and the leaders of the priests' clans and of the other Levite clans were also watching. When they threw the lots, they would choose a family from Eleazar's descendants, then a family from Ithamar's descendants, and so on.

^{7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18}This is the list of the group leaders as they chose them, one by one:

1. Jehoiarib

2. Jedaiah

3. Harim

4. Seorim

5. Malkijah

6. Mijamin

7. Hakkoz

8. Abijah

9. Jeshua

10. Shecaniah

11. Eliashib

12. Jakim

13. Huppah

14. Jeshebeab

15. Bilgah

16. Immer

17. Hezir

18. Happizzez

19. Pethahiah

20. Jehezkel

21. Jakin

22. Gamul

23. Delaiah

24. Maaziah.

¹⁹Each of these leaders, with their group, had their jobs to do in the temple. They had to obey the rules that their ancestor Aaron had given. The Lord , Israel's God, had told him what they must do.

A list of other Levites

²⁰The leaders of the other Levite families included:[#24:20 The rest of the of Levi were all those who were not from Aaron's family.]

Shubael, from Amram's descendants .

Jehdeiah, from Shubael's descendants.

²¹From Rehabiah's descendants: Isshiah, the firstborn son.

²²From Izhar's descendants: Shelomoth.

From Shelomoth's descendants: Jahath.

²³Hebron's four sons were: Jeriah, the firstborn son, then Amariah, the second son, Jahaziel, the third son, and Jekameam, the fourth son.

²⁴Uzziel's son Micah and his son Shamir.

²⁵Micah's brother Isshiah and his son Zechariah.

²⁶Merari's sons were: Mahli, Mushi and Jaaziah.

²⁷Merari's descendants by his son Jaaziah were: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri.

²⁸Mahli's son Eleazar had no sons.

²⁹Kish's son was Jerahmeel.

³⁰Mushi's sons were: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.

That is the list of the Levites, with the leaders of each family.

³¹They also used lots to choose their different jobs, as their relatives , Aaron's descendants, had done. King David, Zadok, Ahimelech and the family leaders of the priests and the other Levites watched them. They chose work for the family leaders in the same way that they did for their younger brothers.