1 Chronicles

Retells some stories from Samuel and Kings, focusing on King David and the importance of worship.

Chapter 27

1 Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.

*Now, the leaders of the Israelites had a list of people, including main fathers and captains who led groups of 1,000 and 100 people. They also had officers who helped the king with different tasks. These groups of people came and went each month as part of their duties, and there were 24,000 people in total involved in these rotating duties throughout the entire year.

2 Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*For the first month, Jashobeam, son of Zabdiel, led the first group, with 24,000 people in his team.

3 Of the children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month.

*From Perez's children, the main captain led the army for the first month.

4 And over the course of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course likewise were twenty and four thousand.

*In the second month, Dodai, an Ahohite, and ruler Mikloth were part of a group. In their group, there were 24,000 people.

5 The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The third leader of the group for the third month was Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, a main priest. He had 24,000 people in his group.

6 This is that Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son.

*This is about Benaiah, a strong warrior among the thirty top fighters. He was even stronger than the other thirty. His son's name is Ammizabad, who followed in his father's footsteps.

7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*In the 4th month, Asahel, Joab's brother, became the leader. He was followed by his son Zebadiah. They had 20,400 people in their group.

8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*In the 5th month, Shamhuth, an Izrahite, became the 5th leader. He had 24,000 people in his group.

9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The 6th leader for the 6th month was Ira, son of Ikkesh from the Tekoite tribe. He had 24,000 people in his group.

10 The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The 7th leader for the 7th month was Helez from Pelon, a descendant of Ephraim. He had 24,000 people in his group.

11 The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The 8th leader for the 8th month was Sibbecai from Hushah, part of the Zarhite group; he had 24,000 people under him.

12 The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The 9th leader for the 9th month was Abiezer, from Anetoth, a part of the tribe of Benjamin. He had 24,000 people in his group.

13 The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*In the 10th month, Maharai from the tribe of Netophathites, part of Zarhites, became the 10th leader. He had 24,000 people under his command.

14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The 11th leader for the 11th month was Benaiah, from the Pirathonite tribe and Ephraim's family. He had 24,000 people in his group.

15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

*The 12th leader for the 12th month was Heldai from Netopha, a descendant of Othniel. He had 24,000 people in his group.

16 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah:

*In addition, among the tribes of Israel, the leader of the Reubenites was Eliezer, son of Zichri; and the leader of the Simeonites was Shephatiah, son of Maachah.

17 Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok:

*From the Levites, Hashabiah, son of Kemuel; from the Aaronites, Zadok.

18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:

*From Judah came Elihu, a brother to David. From Issachar, Omri, son of Michael.

19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel:

*From Zebulun, there was a man named Ishmaiah, son of Obadiah. From Naphtali, another man named Jerimoth, son of Azriel.

20 Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:

*From Ephraim's children, Hoshea, son of Azaziah. From half of Manasseh's tribe, Joel, son of Pedaiah.

21 Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:

*From the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, a person named Iddo, son of Zechariah; from Benjamin, another person named Jaasiel, son of Abner.

22 Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.

*From Dan, Azareel, son of Jeroham, was a leader. He and others were the top people of Israel's groups.

23 But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.

*But David didn't count those who were 20 years old or younger. This was because God promised to make Israel grow very big, like the stars in the sky.

24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.

*Joab, Zeruiah's son, started counting but didn't finish due to God's anger towards Israel. The count wasn't recorded in King David's historical records.

25 And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah:

*Azmaveth, son of Adiel, managed the king's treasures. Jehonathan, son of Uzziah, oversaw storage places in fields, cities, villages, and castles.

26 And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub:

*And in charge of those who worked the land for farming was Ezri, son of Chelub.

27 And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite:

*Shimei, from Ramath, watched over the vineyards. Zabdi, from Shiphim, looked after the growth of the vineyards for storing wine.

28 And over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains was Baalhanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash:

*Baalhanan, a man from Geder, was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the low areas. Joash was in charge of the oil storage places.

29 And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:

*In Sharon, where the herds grazed, there was a person named Shitrai. In the valleys, another person named Shaphat, son of Adlai, looked after the herds.

30 Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite:

*Over the camels, Obil from Ishmael was in charge. And over the donkeys, Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge.

31 And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David’s.

*Jaziz, the Hagerite, looked after the sheep. He and others were in charge of the things that belonged to King David.

32 Also Jonathan David’s uncle was a counsellor, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons:

*Jonathan, David's uncle, was a wise advisor and skilled writer. He also had Jehiel, son of Hachmoni, with King's children.

33 And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion:

*Ahithophel advised the king, while Hushai, an Archite, was the king's friend.

34 And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the general of the king’s army was Joab.

*After Ahithophel, Jehoiada, Benaiah's son, and Abiathar took over. The army general was Joab.

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