These were the areas where Aaron's descendants lived: The following belonged to the Kohathite clan, for they received the first allotment:

They were allotted Hebron in the territory of Judah, as well as its surrounding pasturelands.

Within the territory of the tribe of Benjamin they were allotted Geba and its pasturelands, Alemeth and its pasturelands, and Anathoth and its pasturelands. Their clans were allotted thirteen cities in all.

They allotted these previously named cities from the territory of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

They were allotted as cities of refuge Shechem and its pasturelands (in the hill country of Ephraim), Gezer and its pasturelands,

The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Samuel. They were leaders of their families. In the time of David there were 22,600 warriors listed in Tola's genealogical records.

According to the genealogical records of their families, they had 36,000 warriors available for battle, for they had numerous wives and sons.

his son Zabad, his son Shuthelah (Ezer and Elead were killed by the men of Gath, who were natives of the land, when they went down to steal their cattle.

All these were the descendants of Asher. They were the leaders of their families, the most capable men, who were warriors and served as head chiefs. There were 26,000 warriors listed in their genealogical records as capable of doing battle.

Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These were his sons; they were family leaders.

Beriah, and Shema. They were leaders of the families living in Aijalon and chased out the inhabitants of Gath.

These were the family leaders listed in the genealogical records; they lived in Jerusalem.

Mikloth was the father of Shimeah. They also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

The sons of Ulam were warriors who were adept archers. They had many sons and grandsons, a total of 150. All these were the descendants of Benjamin.

Their relatives, who were leaders of their families, numbered 1,760. They were capable men who were assigned to carry out the various tasks of service in God's temple.

They and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the Lord's sanctuary (that is, the tabernacle).

They would spend the night in their posts all around God's sanctuary, for they were assigned to guard it and would open it with the key every morning.

Some of them were in charge of the articles used by those who served; they counted them when they brought them in and when they brought them out.

The musicians and Levite family leaders stayed in rooms at the sanctuary and were exempt from other duties, for day and night they had to carry out their assigned tasks.

These were the family leaders of the Levites, as listed in their genealogical records. They lived in Jerusalem.

Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua.

When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa.

They stripped his corpse, and then carried off his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines proclaiming the news to their idols and their people.

They placed his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.

all the warriors went and recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their remains under the oak tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days.

When all the leaders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord. They anointed David king over Israel, just as the Lord had announced through Samuel.

but then they made a stand in the middle of that area. They defended it and defeated the Philistines; the Lord gave them a great victory.

So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the city gate. They carried it back to David, but David refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

and said, "God forbid that I should do this! Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?" Because they risked their lives to bring it to him, he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors.

These were the men who joined David in Ziklag, when he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish. (They were among the warriors who assisted him in battle.

They were armed with bows and could shoot arrows or sling stones right or left-handed. They were fellow tribesmen of Saul from Benjamin.) These were:

Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills.

They crossed the Jordan River in the first month, when it was overflowing its banks, and routed those living in all the valleys to the east and west.

Some men from Manasseh joined David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (But in the end they did not help the Philistines because, after taking counsel, the Philistine lords sent David away, saying: "It would be disastrous for us if he deserts to his master Saul.")

They helped David fight against raiding bands, for all of them were warriors and leaders in the army.

From Issachar there were 200 leaders and all their relatives at their command -- they understood the times and knew what Israel should do.

All these men were warriors who were ready to march. They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel by acclamation; all the rest of the Israelites also were in agreement that David should become king.

They spent three days feasting there with David, for their relatives had given them provisions.

David said to the whole Israelite assembly, "If you so desire and the Lord our God approves, let's spread the word to our brothers who remain in all the regions of Israel, and to the priests and Levites in their cities, so they may join us.

They transported the ark on a new cart from the house of Abinadab; Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart,

When they arrived at the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to take hold of the ark, because the oxen stumbled.

So they marched against Baal Perazim and David defeated them there. David said, "Using me as his instrument, God has burst out against my enemies like water bursts out." So that place is called Baal Perazim.

The Philistines left their idols there, so David ordered that they be burned.

David did just as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.

The priests and Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint some of their relatives as musicians; they were to play various instruments, including stringed instruments and cymbals, and to sing loudly and joyfully.

When God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the Lord's covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

All Israel brought up the ark of the Lord's covenant; they were shouting, blowing trumpets, sounding cymbals, and playing stringed instruments.

They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.

Asaph was the leader and Zechariah second in command, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They were to play stringed instruments; Asaph was to sound the cymbals;

When they were few in number, just a very few, and foreign residents within it,

they wandered from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another.

I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning

the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, "Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? No, his servants have come to you so they can get information and spy out the land!"

They hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his army, who came and camped in front of Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from their cities and marched out to do battle.

He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites.

So Joab and his men marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him.

When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before Joab's brother Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem.

When the Arameans realized they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for reinforcements from beyond the Euphrates River, led by Shophach the commanding general of Hadadezer's army.

When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and marched against them. David deployed his army against the Arameans for battle and they fought against him.

When Hadadezer's subjects saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

These were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed by the hand of David and his soldiers.

David said to God, "Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed! As for these sheep -- what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family, but remove the plague from your people!"

Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility.

Their job was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the Lord's temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God's temple.

They also took care of the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring.

They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening

They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord's temple.

Nadab and Abihu died before their father did; they had no sons. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

The descendants of Eleazar had more leaders than the descendants of Ithamar, so they divided them up accordingly; the descendants of Eleazar had sixteen leaders, while the descendants of Ithamar had eight.

They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

This was the order in which they carried out their assigned responsibilities when they entered the Lord's temple, according to the regulations given them by their ancestor Aaron, just as the Lord God of Israel had instructed him.

Just like their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, they also cast lots before King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, the leaders of families, the priests, and the Levites. The families of the oldest son cast lots along with the those of the youngest.

David and the army officers selected some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy as they played stringed instruments and cymbals. The following men were assigned this responsibility:

All of these were under the supervision of their fathers; they were musicians in the Lord's temple, playing cymbals and stringed instruments as they served in God's temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the supervision of the king.

They and their relatives, all of them skilled and trained to make music to the Lord, numbered two hundred eighty-eight.

They cast lots to determine their responsibilities -- oldest as well as youngest, teacher as well as student.

His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders of their families, for they were highly respected.

All these were the descendants of Obed-Edom. They and their sons and relatives were respected men, capable of doing their responsibilities. There were sixty-two of them related to Obed-Edom.

These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their leaders, had assigned responsibilities, like their relatives, as they served in the Lord's temple.

They cast lots, both young and old, according to their families, to determine which gate they would be responsible for.

The lot for the east gate went to Shelemiah. They then cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise adviser, and the lot for the north gate went to him.

Each day there were six Levites posted on the east, four on the north, and four on the south. At the storehouses they were posted in pairs.

and the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the storehouses in the Lord's temple.

They had dedicated some of the plunder taken in battles to be used for repairs on the Lord's temple.

They were also in charge of everything dedicated by Samuel the prophet, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah; Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of everything that had been dedicated.

As for the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 respected men, were assigned responsibilities in Israel west of the Jordan; they did the Lord's work and the king's service.

As for the Hebronites: Jeriah was the leader of the Hebronites according to the genealogical records. In the fortieth year of David's reign, they examined the records and discovered there were highly respected men in Jazer in Gilead.

Jeriah had 2,700 relatives who were respected family leaders. King David placed them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh; they took care of all matters pertaining to God and the king.

They donated for the service of God's temple 5,000 talents and ten thousand darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.

The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the Lord with a willing attitude; King David was also very happy.

David told the entire assembly: "Praise the Lord your God!" So the entire assembly praised the Lord God of their ancestors; they bowed down and stretched out flat on the ground before the Lord and the king.

The next day they made sacrifices and offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord (1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, 1,000 lambs), along with their accompanying drink offerings and many other sacrifices for all Israel.

They held a feast before the Lord that day and celebrated. Then they designated Solomon, David's son, as king a second time; before the Lord they anointed him as ruler and Zadok as priest.

Solomon and the entire assembly went to the worship center in Gibeon, for the tent where they met God was located there, which Moses the Lord's servant had made in the wilderness.

They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt, and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.

The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood upright, facing inward.

"The Sea" stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. "The Sea" was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.