Day 183 of 730

¹Now the children of Israel after their number, the heads of fathers' households and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king, in any matter of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year-of every division were twenty-four thousand.

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

³He was of the children of Perez, the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month.

⁴Over the division of the second month was Dodai the Ahohite, and his division; and Mikloth the ruler: and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

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

⁶This is that Benaiah, who was the mighty man of the thirty, and over the thirty: and of his division was Ammizabad his son.

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹³The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zerahites: and in his division were Twenty-four thousand.

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

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

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

¹⁷of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of Aaron, Zadok:

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

¹⁹of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel:

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

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

²²of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.

²³But David did not take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the sky.

²⁴Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but did not finish; and there came wrath for this on Israel; neither was the number put into the account in the chronicles of king David.

²⁵Over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the towers, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah:

²⁶Over those who did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub:

²⁷and over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: and over the increase of the vineyards for the winecellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite:

²⁸and over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowland was Baal Hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash:

²⁹and 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:

³⁰and over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the donkeys was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite.

³¹All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David's.

³²Also Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons:

³³Ahithophel was the king's counselor: and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend:

³⁴and after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the captain of the king's army was Joab.

¹David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies who served the king by division, and the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers, and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, to Jerusalem.

²Then David the king stood up on his feet, and said, "Hear me, my brothers, and my people! As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God; and I had prepared for the building.

³But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for my name, because you are a man of war, and have shed blood.'

⁴However the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen Judah to be prince; and in the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel.

⁵Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the Lord's kingdom over Israel.

⁶He said to me, 'Solomon, your son, shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

⁷I will establish his kingdom forever, if he continues to do my commandments and my ordinances, as at this day.'

⁸Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

⁹You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

¹⁰Take heed now; for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it."

¹¹Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch of the temple, and of its houses, and of its treasuries, and of the upper rooms of it, and of the inner rooms of it, and of the place of the mercy seat;

¹²and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God's house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things;

¹³also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord;

¹⁴of gold by weight for the gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service;

¹⁵by weight also for the lampstands of gold, and for its lamps, of gold, by weight for every lampstand and for its lamps; and for the lampstands of silver, by weight for every lampstand and for its lamps, according to the use of every lampstand;

¹⁶and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver;

¹⁷and the forks, and the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl;

¹⁸and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot, the cherubim, that spread out, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

¹⁹"All this," said David, "I have been made to understand in writing from the hand of the Lord, even all the works of this pattern."

²⁰David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

²¹Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of God's house. There shall be with you in all kinds of work every willing man who has skill, for any kind of service. Also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command."

¹Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright.

²Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

³Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy!

⁴For the word of the Lord is right. All his work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of the Lord.

⁶By the Lord's word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

⁹For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

¹³The Lord looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men.

¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works.

¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

¹⁷A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power.

¹⁸Behold, the Lord's eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness;

¹⁹to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul has waited for the Lord. He is our help and our shield.

²¹For our heart rejoices in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

²²Let your loving kindness be on us, Lord, since we have hoped in you.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²In rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.

³A needy man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no crops.

⁴Those who forsake the Law praise the wicked; but those who keep the Law contend with them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice; but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.

⁶Better is the poor who walks in his integrity, than he who is perverse in his ways, and he is rich.

⁷Whoever keeps the Law is a wise son; but he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.

⁹He who turns away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he will fall into his own trap; but the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is wise in his own eyes; but the poor who has understanding sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

¹⁴Blessed is the man who always fears; but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

¹⁵As a roaring lion or a charging bear, so is a wicked ruler over helpless people.

¹⁶A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment. One who hates ill-gotten gain will have long days.

¹⁷A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him.

¹⁸Whoever walks blamelessly is kept safe; but one with perverse ways will fall suddenly.

¹⁹One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

²⁰A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good; yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

²²A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn't know that poverty waits for him.

²³One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother, and says, "It's not wrong." He is a partner with a destroyer.

²⁵One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

²⁶One who trusts in himself is a fool; but one who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

²⁷One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.