To The Word – Day 142

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.

₂₀Others of their fellow-Levites were in charge of the temple treasury and the storerooms for gifts dedicated to God. ₂₁Ladan, one of the sons of Gershon, was the ancestor of several family groups, including the family of his son Jehiel. ₂₂Ladan's two other sons, Zetham and Joel, had charge of the temple treasury and storerooms.

₂₃Duties were also assigned to the descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

₂₄Shebuel, of the clan of Moses' son Gershom, was the chief official responsible for the temple treasury. ₂₅Through Gershom's brother Eliezer he was related to Shelomith. Eliezer was the father of Rehabiah, who was the father of Jeshiah, the father of Joram, the father of Zichri, the father of Shelomith. ₂₆Shelomith and the members of his family were in charge of all the gifts dedicated to God by King David, the heads of families, leaders of clan groups, and army officers. ₂₇They took some of the loot they captured in battle and dedicated it for use in the Temple. ₂₈Shelomith and his family were in charge of everything that had been dedicated for use in the Temple, including the gifts brought by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, by Abner son of Ner, and by Joab son of Zeruiah.

₂₉Among the descendants of Izhar, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned administrative duties: keeping records and settling disputes for the people of Israel.

₃₀Among the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and 1,700 of his relatives, all outstanding men, were put in charge of the administration of all religious and civil matters in Israel west of the River Jordan. ₃₁Jeriah was the leader of the descendants of Hebron. In the fortieth year that David was king, an investigation was made of the family line of Hebron's descendants, and outstanding soldiers belonging to this family were found living at Jazer in the territory of Gilead. ₃₂King David chose 2,700 outstanding heads of families from Jeriah's relatives and put them in charge of administering all religious and civil matters in Israel east of the River Jordan — the territories of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

₁This is the list of the Israelite heads of families and clan leaders and their officials who administered the work of the kingdom. Each month of the year a different group of 24,000 men was on duty under the commander for that month.

_2-15The following were the commanders for each month:

_16-22This is the list of the administrators of the tribes of Israel:

₂₃King David did not take a census of the people who were under the age of twenty, because of the LORD's promise to make the people of Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. ₂₄Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, began to take a census, but he did not complete it. God punished Israel because of this census, so the final figures were never recorded in King David's official records.

_25-31This is the list of those who administered the royal property:

₃₂Jonathan, King David's uncle, was a skilful adviser and a scholar. He and Jehiel son of Hachmoni were in charge of the education of the king's sons. ₃₃Ahithophel was adviser to the king, and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend and counsellor. ₃₄After Ahithophel died, Abiathar and Jehoiada son of Benaiah became advisers. Joab was commander of the royal army.

₁King David commanded all the officials of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. So all the officials of the tribes, the officials who administered the work of the kingdom, the leaders of the clans, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons — indeed all the palace officials, leading soldiers, and important men — gathered in Jerusalem.

₂David stood before them and addressed them: “My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the LORD our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honour him, ₃but he has forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and have shed too much blood. ₄The LORD, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel for ever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father's family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel. ₅He gave me many sons, and out of them all he chose Solomon to rule over Israel, the LORD's kingdom.

₆“The LORD said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ₇I will make his kingdom last for ever if he continues to obey carefully all my laws and commands as he does now.’

₈“So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the LORD's people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the LORD our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations for ever.”

₉And to Solomon he said, “My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father's God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you for ever. ₁₀You must realize that the LORD has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it — and do it with determination.”

₁₁David gave Solomon the plans for all the temple buildings, for the storerooms and all the other rooms, and for the Most Holy Place, where sins are forgiven. ₁₂He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the LORD. ₁₃David also gave him the plans for organizing the priests and Levites to perform their duties, to do the work of the Temple, and to take care of all the temple utensils. ₁₄He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils, ₁₅for each lamp and lampstand, ₁₆for the silver tables, and for each gold table on which were placed the loaves of bread offered to God. ₁₇He also gave instructions as to how much pure gold was to be used in making forks, bowls, and jars, how much silver and gold in making dishes, ₁₈and how much pure gold in making the altar on which incense was burnt and in making the chariot for the winged creatures that spread their wings over the LORD's Covenant Box. ₁₉King David said, “All this is contained in the plan written according to the instructions which the LORD himself gave me to carry out.”

₂₀King David said to his son Solomon, “Be confident and determined. Start the work and don't let anything stop you. The LORD God, whom I serve, will be with you. He will not abandon you, but he will stay with you until you finish the work to be done on his Temple. ₂₁The priests and the Levites have been assigned duties to perform in the Temple. Workers with every kind of skill are eager to help you, and all the people and their leaders are at your command.”

₁King David announced to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the LORD God. ₂I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple — gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble. ₃Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple. ₄I have given more than a hundred tonnes of the finest gold and almost 240 tonnes of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple ₅and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the LORD?”

₆Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give ₇the following for the work on the Temple: more than 170 tonnes of gold, over 340 tonnes of silver, almost 620 tonnes of bronze, and more than 3,400 tonnes of iron. ₈Those who had precious stones gave them to the temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon. ₉The people had given willingly to the LORD, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

₁₀There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the LORD. He said, “LORD God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised for ever and ever! ₁₁You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all. ₁₂All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong. ₁₃Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

₁₄“Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already. ₁₅You know, O LORD, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death. ₁₆O LORD, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honour your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. ₁₇I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you. ₁₈LORD God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion for ever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you. ₁₉Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.”

₂₀Then David commanded the people, “Praise the LORD your God!” And the whole assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honour to the LORD and also to the king.

₂₁The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the LORD, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burnt whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine. ₂₂So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the LORD.

For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the LORD they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest. ₂₃So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the LORD had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him. ₂₄All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons promised to be loyal to Solomon as king. ₂₅The LORD made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.

₂₆David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel ₂₇for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for 33. ₂₈He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king. ₂₉The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ₃₀The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.

₁A wise son pays attention when his father corrects him, but an arrogant person never admits he is wrong.

₂Good people will be rewarded for what they say, but those who are deceitful are hungry for violence.

₃Be careful what you say and protect your life. A careless talker destroys himself.

₄No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants.

₅Honest people hate lies, but the words of wicked people are shameful and disgraceful.

₆Righteousness protects the innocent; wickedness is the downfall of sinners.

₇Some people pretend to be rich, but have nothing. Others pretend to be poor, but own a fortune.

₈The rich have to use their money to save their lives, but no one threatens the poor.

₉The righteous are like a light shining brightly; the wicked are like a lamp flickering out.

₁₀Arrogance causes nothing but trouble. It is wiser to ask for advice.

₁₁The more easily you get your wealth, the sooner you will lose it. The harder it is to earn, the more you will have.

₁₂When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed, but a wish come true fills you with joy.

₁₃If you refuse good advice, you are asking for trouble; follow it and you are safe.

₁₄The teachings of the wise are a fountain of life; they will help you escape when your life is in danger.

₁₅Intelligence wins respect, but those who can't be trusted are on the road to ruin.

₁₆Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.

₁₇Unreliable messengers cause trouble, but those who can be trusted bring peace.

₁₈Someone who will not learn will be poor and disgraced. Anyone who listens to correction is respected.

₁₉How good it is to get what you want! Stupid people refuse to turn away from evil.

₂₀Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined.

₂₁Trouble follows sinners everywhere, but righteous people will be rewarded with good things.

₂₂Good people will have wealth to leave to their grandchildren, but the wealth of sinners will go to the righteous.

₂₃Unused fields could yield plenty of food for the poor, but unjust people keep them from being farmed.

₂₄If you don't punish your son, you don't love him. If you do love him, you will correct him.

₂₅The righteous have enough to eat, but the wicked are always hungry.