1 Chronicles 6:17–32

⁷¶ Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.

¹⁷The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.

¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.

²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.

¹²¶ The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

²And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

³And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²¹¶ The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.

²⁶The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno.

¹⁹And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.

⁵⁷¶ And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

⁵⁸These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram.

²⁰And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

⁴³The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

²⁴And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.

¹⁸And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

²And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

²¹¶ And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

²⁴And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.

³⁵The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

³⁶The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

¹NOW there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

³⁵The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

¹NOW there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

¹⁹¶ And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.

²⁰Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

³³And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,

²Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.

¹⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.

³³¶ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

¹⁷¶ And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

¹⁶And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;

¹⁸And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the porters.

¹⁹So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;

²⁰And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;

²¹And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel.

²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.

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⁴¶ And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:

⁵Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;

⁶Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

¹⁴This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

⁸Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

¹MOREOVER David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

²Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.

³Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the Lord.

⁴Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth:

⁵All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king’s order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.

⁷So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.

⁸¶ And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

⁹Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve:

¹⁰The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹¹The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹²The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹³The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁴The seventh to Jesharelah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁵The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁶The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁷The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁸The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁹The twelfth to Hashabiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁰The thirteenth to Shubael, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²¹The fourteenth to Mattithiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²²The fifteenth to Jeremoth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²³The sixteenth to Hananiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁴The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁵The eighteenth to Hanani, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁶The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁷The twentieth to Eliathah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁸The one and twentieth to Hothir, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁹The two and twentieth to Giddalti, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

³⁰The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

³¹The four and twentieth to Romamti-ezer, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve.

¹PRAISE ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord.

²Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God,

³Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

³⁷¶ So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required:

³⁸And Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:

³⁹And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,

⁴⁰To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel;

⁴¹And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever;

⁴²And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.

⁴¶ And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:

⁵Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;

⁶Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.

⁸¶ And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

⁹Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve:

¹⁰The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹¹The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹²The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹³The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁴The seventh to Jesharelah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁵The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁶The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁷The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁸The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

¹⁹The twelfth to Hashabiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁰The thirteenth to Shubael, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²¹The fourteenth to Mattithiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²²The fifteenth to Jeremoth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²³The sixteenth to Hananiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁴The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁵The eighteenth to Hanani, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁶The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁷The twentieth to Eliathah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁸The one and twentieth to Hothir, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

²⁹The two and twentieth to Giddalti, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

³⁰The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

³¹The four and twentieth to Romamti-ezer, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve.

¹⁰And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest’s office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)

³³And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.

⁶And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

⁷For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

⁸And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

⁹There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

¹¹So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

¹²¶ Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

¹³I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

²⁵And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets.

²⁶And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

²⁷And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.

²⁸And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.

³⁰Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

²¶ And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord.

¹⁵And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁰And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

¹¹And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

¹⁸And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.

¹⁷And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.

¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four.

¹⁹Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred seventy and two.

²⁰¶ And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.

²¹But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims.

²²The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God.

²³For it was the king’s commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.

²⁷¶ And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.

²⁸And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;

⁴⁵And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.

⁴⁶For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.

⁴⁷And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.

¹BEHOLD, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.

²Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.

²⁴They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.

²⁵The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.