Bible Reading Plan – Day 99

Bible text(s)

1 Chronicles 22

Preparations for Building the Temple

2King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. 3He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it. 4He arranged for the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring him a large number of cedar logs. 5David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.

6He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple to honour the LORD my God. 8But the LORD told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. 9He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon, because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. 10He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel for ever.’ ”

11David continued, “Now, my son, may the LORD your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. 12And may the LORD your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. 13If you obey all the laws which the LORD gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid. 14As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated more than 3,400 tonnes of gold and over 34,000 tonnes of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. 15You have many workmen. There are men to work in the stone quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of craftsmen of every sort who can work 16with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.”

17David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. 18He said, “The LORD your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the LORD. 19Now serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the LORD and all the other sacred objects used in worshipping him.”

1 Chronicles 23

1When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

The Work of the Levites

2King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites. 3He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was 38,000. 4The king assigned 24,000 to administer the work of the Temple, 6,000 to keep records and decide disputes, 54,000 to do guard duty, and 4,000 to praise the LORD, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.

6David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. 8Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel, 9who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.) 10-11Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.

12Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13His eldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects for ever, to burn incense in the worship of the LORD, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name. 14But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.) 15Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. 16The leader among Gershom's sons was Shebuel. 17Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

18Kohath's second son, Izhar, had a son, Shelomith, the head of the clan. 19Kohath's third son, Hebron, had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. 20Kohath's fourth son, Uzziel, had two sons, Micah and Isshiah.

21Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. Mahli also had two sons, Eleazar and Kish, 22but Eleazar died without having any sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. 23Merari's second son, Mushi, had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

24These were the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, every one of them registered by name. Each of his descendants, twenty years of age or older, had a share in the work of the LORD's Temple.

25David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given peace to his people, and he himself will live in Jerusalem for ever. 26So there is no longer any need for the Levites to carry the Tent of the LORD's presence and all the equipment used in worship.” 27On the basis of David's final instructions all Levites were registered for service when they reached the age of twenty, 28and were assigned the following duties: to help the priests descended from Aaron with the temple worship, to take care of its courtyards and its rooms, and to keep undefiled everything that is sacred; 29to be responsible for the bread offered to God, the flour used in offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the baked offerings, and the flour mixed with olive oil; to weigh and measure the temple offerings; 30and to praise and glorify the LORD every morning and every evening 31and whenever offerings to the LORD are burnt on the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and other festivals. Rules were made specifying the number of Levites assigned to do this work each time. The Levites were assigned the duty of worshipping the LORD for all time. 32They were given the responsibility of taking care of the Tent of the LORD's presence and the Temple, and of assisting their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, in the temple worship.

1 Chronicles 24

The Work Assigned to the Priests

1These are the groups to which the descendants of Aaron belong. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and left no descendants, so their brothers Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. 3King David organized the descendants of Aaron into groups according to their duties. He was assisted in this by Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and by Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar. 4The descendants of Eleazar were organized into sixteen groups, while the descendants of Ithamar were organized into eight; this was done because there were more male heads of families among the descendants of Eleazar. 5Since there were temple officials and spiritual leaders among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar, assignments were made by drawing lots. 6The descendants of Eleazar and of Ithamar took turns in drawing lots. Then they were registered by Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite secretary. The king, his officials, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of the priestly families and of the Levite families, were all witnesses.

7-18This is the order in which the 24 family groups were given their assignments:

1. Jehoiarib
2. Jedaiah
3. Harim
4. Seorim
5. Malchijah
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. Jachin
22. Gamul
23. Delaiah
24. Maaziah

19These men were registered according to their assignments for going to the Temple and performing the duties established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the LORD God of Israel.

The List of the Levites

20These are other heads of families descended from Levi:

Jehdeiah, a descendant of Amram through Shebuel;

21Isshiah, a descendant of Rehabiah;

22Jahath, a descendant of Izhar through Shelomith;

23Jeriah, Amariah, Jehaziel, and Jekameam, sons of Hebron, in order of age;

24Shamir, a descendant of Uzziel through Micah;

25Zechariah, a descendant of Uzziel through Isshiah, Micah's brother;

26Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah, descendants of Merari. 27Jaaziah had three sons: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. 28-29Mahli had two sons, Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar had no sons, but Kish had one son, Jerahmeel. 30Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

These are the families of the Levites.

31The head of each family and one of his younger brothers drew lots for their assignments, just as their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, had done. King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites were witnesses.

1 Chronicles 25

The Temple Musicians

1King David and the leaders of the Levites chose the following Levite clans to lead the services of worship: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. They were to proclaim God's messages, accompanied by the music of harps and cymbals. This is the list of persons chosen to lead the worship, with the type of service that each group performed:

2The four sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah. They were under the direction of Asaph, who proclaimed God's messages whenever the king commanded.

3The six sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah. Under the direction of their father they proclaimed God's message, accompanied by the music of harps, and sang praise and thanks to the LORD.

4The fourteen sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5God gave to Heman, the king's prophet, these fourteen sons and also three daughters, as he had promised, in order to give power to Heman. 6All his sons played cymbals and harps under their father's direction, to accompany the temple worship. And Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under orders from the king.

7All these 24 men were experts; and their fellow-Levites were trained musicians. There were 288 men in all.

8To determine the assignment of duties they all drew lots, whether they were young or old, experts or beginners.

9-31These 288 men were divided according to families into 24 groups of twelve, with a leader in charge of each group. This is the order in which they were on duty:

1. Joseph of the family of Asaph
2. Gedaliah
3. Zaccur
4. Zeri
5. Nethaniah
6. Bukkiah
7. Asharelah
8. Jeshaiah
9. Mattaniah
10. Shimei
11. Uzziel
12. Hashabiah
13. Shebuel
14. Mattithiah
15. Jerimoth
16. Hananiah
17. Joshbekashah
18. Hanani
19. Mallothi
20. Eliathah
21. Hothir
22. Giddalti
23. Mahazioth
24. Romamti Ezer

1 Chronicles 26

The Temple Guards

1These are the assignments of work for the Levites who served as temple guards. From the clan of Korah there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Asaph. 2He had seven sons, listed in order of age: Zechariah, Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel, 3Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

4There was also Obed Edom, whom God blessed by giving him eight sons, listed in order of age: Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sachar, Nethanel, 5Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai.

6-7Obed Edom's eldest son, Shemaiah, had six sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu, and Semachiah. They were important men in their clan because of their great ability; the last two were especially talented.

8Obed Edom's family furnished a total of 62 highly qualified men for this work.

9Meshelemiah's family furnished eighteen qualified men.

10From the clan of Merari there was Hosah, who had four sons: Shimri (his father made him the leader, even though he was not the eldest son), 11Hilkiah, Tebaliah, and Zechariah. In all there were thirteen members of Hosah's family who were temple guards.

12The temple guards were divided into groups, according to families, and they were assigned duties in the Temple, just as the other Levites were. 13Each family, regardless of size, drew lots to see which gate it would be responsible for. 14Shelemiah drew the east gate, and his son Zechariah, a man who always gave good advice, drew the north gate. 15Obed Edom was allotted the south gate, and his sons were allotted to guard the storerooms. 16Shuppim and Hosah were allotted the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road. Guard duty was divided into assigned periods, one after another. 17On the east, six guards were on duty each day, on the north, four, and on the south, four. Four guards were stationed at the storerooms daily, two at each storeroom. 18Near the western pavilion there were four guards by the road and two at the pavilion itself. 19This is the assignment of guard duty to the clan of Korah and the clan of Merari.

1 Chronicles 22:2-26:19GNBOpen in Bible reader
Bible Society of South Africav.4.26.9
Find us on