From half the tribe of Manasseh, Aner and its pasturelands, and Bileam and its pasturelands were given to the rest of the families of the Kohathites.

Tola’s sons: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their ancestral houses. During David’s reign, 22,600 descendants of Tola were recorded as warriors in their genealogies.

Uzzi’s son: Izrahiah.
Izrahiah’s sons: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, Isshiah. All five of them were chiefs.

Their tribesmen who were warriors belonging to all the families of Issachar totaled 87,000 in their genealogies.

Bela’s sons: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five. They were warriors and heads of their ancestral houses; 22,034 were listed in their genealogies.

Becher’s sons: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth; all these were Becher’s sons.

Their genealogies were recorded according to the heads of their ancestral houses—20,200 warriors.

All these sons of Jediael listed by heads of families were warriors; there were 17,200 who could serve in the army.

Shuppim and Huppim were sons of Ir, and the Hushim were the sons of Aher.

Machir’s wife Maacah gave birth to a son, and she named him Peresh. His brother was named Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rekem.

Ulam’s son: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead son of Machir, son of Manasseh.

his son Zabad,
his son Shuthelah, also Ezer, and Elead.

The men of Gath, born in the land, killed them because they went down to raid their cattle.

Their holdings and settlements were Bethel and its villages; Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages as far as Ayyah and its villages,

Japhlet’s sons: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s sons.

Jether’s sons: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara.

Ulla’s sons: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.

All these were Asher’s sons. They were the heads of their ancestral houses, chosen men, warriors, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men listed in their genealogies for military service was 26,000.

These were Ehud’s sons, who were the heads of the families living in Geba and who were deported to Manahath:

Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families.

Beriah and Shema, who were the heads of families of Aijalon’s residents and who drove out the residents of Gath,

Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were Beriah’s sons.

Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were Elpaal’s sons.

Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were Shimei’s sons.

Iphdeiah, and Penuel were Shashak’s sons.

Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were Jeroham’s sons.

These were heads of families, chiefs according to their genealogies, and lived in Jerusalem.

Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were Azel’s sons.

Ulam’s sons were warriors and archers. They had many sons and grandsons—150 of them.
All these were among Benjamin’s sons.

All Israel was registered in the genealogies that are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.

The first to live in their towns on their own property again were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.

and 956 of their relatives according to their genealogical records. All these men were heads of their ancestral houses.

and 1,760 of their relatives, the heads of households. They were capable men employed in the ministry of God’s temple.

he was previously stationed at the King’s Gate on the east side. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites.

Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah and his relatives from his ancestral household, the Korahites, were assigned to guard the thresholds of the tent. Their ancestors had been assigned to the Lord’s camp as guardians of the entrance.

The total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted positions.

So they and their sons were assigned to the gates of the Lord’s temple, which had been the tent-temple.

The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north, and south.

but the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of God’s temple.

They spent the night in the vicinity of God’s temple, because they had guard duty and were in charge of opening it every morning.

Some of them were in charge of the utensils used in worship. They would count them when they brought them in and when they took them out.

Others were put in charge of the furnishings and all the utensils of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, incense, and spices.

Some of the Kohathites’ relatives were responsible for preparing the rows of the bread of the Presence every Sabbath.

The singers, the heads of the Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other tasks because they were on duty day and night.

These were the heads of the Levite families, chiefs according to their genealogies, and lived in Jerusalem.

Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were Azel’s sons.

The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel’s men fled from them and were killed on Mount Gilboa.

Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!” But his armor-bearer wouldn’t do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.

When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them.

All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.

Even when Saul was king, you led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over My people Israel.’”

David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus); the Jebusites who inhabited the land were there.

The following were the chiefs of David’s warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the Lord’s word about Israel.

He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.

David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.

These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors.

The fighting men were:

Joab’s brother Asahel,
Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
Abiezer the Anathothite,

Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite,
Eliphal son of Ur,

Ira the Ithrite,
Gareb the Ithrite,

Uriah the Hittite,
Zabad son of Ahlai,

The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.

They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow. They were Saul’s relatives from Benjamin:

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were fighting men, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.

These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand.

These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.

David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”

Then the Spirit took control of Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:

We are yours, David,
we are with you, son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
and peace to him who helps you,
for your God helps you.

So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”

They helped David against the raiders, for they were all brave warriors and commanders in the army.

The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, according to the Lord’s word, were as follows:

From the Simeonites: 7,100 brave warriors ready for war.

From the Ephraimites: 20,800 brave warriors who were famous men in their ancestral houses.

From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose to help David.

From across the Jordan—from the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: 120,000 men equipped with all the military weapons of war.

They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.

Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the Lord our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.

Then let us bring back the ark of our God, for we did not inquire of Him in Saul’s days.”

At Abinadab’s house they set the ark of God on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart.

David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before God with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

so David inquired of God, “Should I go to war against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?”

The Lord replied, “Go, and I will hand them over to you.”

He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

For the Lord our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn’t inquire of Him about the proper procedures.”

With them were their relatives second in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.

The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals;

Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth;

and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to the Sheminith.

Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be gatekeepers for the ark.

While the Levites were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with God’s help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.

He is the Lord our God;
His judgments govern the whole earth.

“I will give the land of Canaan to you
as your inherited portion.”

When they were few in number,
very few indeed, and temporary residents in Canaan

“Do not touch My anointed ones
or harm My prophets.”

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and joy are in His place.

And say: “Save us, God of our salvation;
gather us and rescue us from the nations
so that we may give thanks to Your holy name
and rejoice in Your praise.

He assigned Obed-edom and his 68 relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were to be gatekeepers.

With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord—for His faithful love endures forever.