Legacy Standard Bible

1 Chronicles 23 - 25

Solomon Made King over Israel

23aNow David became old and full of days, band he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.

The Work of the Levites

3aAnd the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and btheir number by 1census of men was 38,000. 4Of these, 24,000 were ato direct the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6,000 were bofficers and judges, 5and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and a4,000 were praising Yahweh with the instruments which 1David made for giving praise. 6And David divided them into divisions aaccording to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Sons of Gershon

7Of the Gershonites were 1Ladan and Shimei. 8The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three. 9The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. 10The sons of Shimei were Jahath, 1Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one 1unit.

The Sons of Kohath

12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13aThe sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And bAaron was separated in order to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, cto offer offerings up in smoke before Yahweh, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever. 14But as for aMoses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. 15The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. 16The 1son of Gershom was 2Shebuel the chief. 17The 1son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18The 1son of Izhar was 2Shelomith the chief. 19The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth. 20The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

The Sons of Merari

21The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22And Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them up as wives. 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

The Service of the Levites

24aThese were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were 1counted, in the number of names by their 2census, doing the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, bfrom twenty years old and upward. 25For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, ahas given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26“Also, athe Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings for its service.” 27For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. 28For their station is to be on hand for the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts and in the chambers and in the cleansing of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, 29aand with the showbread, and bthe fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or cwhat is made on the griddle, or dwhat is well stirred, and eall measures of volume and size. 30And they are to stand every morning to thank and to praise Yahweh, and likewise at evening, 31and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, aon the sabbaths, the new moons and bthe appointed times in the number set by the judgments concerning them, continually before Yahweh. 32Thus athey shall keep responsibility of the tent of meeting, and responsibility of the holy place, and bresponsibility of the sons of Aaron their 1relatives, for the service of the house of Yahweh.

Divisions of Levites

24Now the divisions of the sons of Aaron were these: athe sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2aBut Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no 1sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests. 3And David, with aZadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their assignments for their service. 4And more chief men were found from the 1sons of Eleazar than the 2sons of Ithamar, so they divided them thus: there were sixteen heads of fathers’ households of the 3sons of Eleazar and eight of the 4sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ households. 5aThus they were divided by lot, the one as the other; for they were leaders for the sanctuary and leaders for God, both from the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. 6Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, from the Levites, wrote them down in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, aAhimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one father’s household taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.
7Now the first lot came out for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, 8the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, 9the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin, 10the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for aAbijah, 11the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah, 12the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim, 13the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab, 14the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer, 15the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez, 16the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel, 17the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul, 18the twenty-third for Delaiah, the twenty-fourth for Maaziah.
19aThese were their assignments for their service when they came in to the house of Yahweh according to the legal judgment rendered to them by the hand of Aaron their father, just as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20Now for the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, 1Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the first. 22Of the Izharites, 1Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23The sons aof Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. 24The sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. 25The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. 26The sons of Merari, Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Jaaziah, Beno. 27The sons of Merari: by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. 28By Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. 29By Kish: the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel. 30The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.
31aThese also cast lots alongside their 1relatives the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, bZadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites—the head of fathers’ households alongside those of his younger brother.

Number and Services of Musicians

25Moreover, David and the commanders of the army separated for the service some of the sons of aAsaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to bprophesy with lyres, charps, and cymbals; and the number of 1those who performed their service was:
2Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and 1Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the 2direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the 3direction of the king. 3aOf Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, 1Zeri, Jeshaiah, 2Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the 3direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising Yahweh. 4Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, 1Uzziel, 2Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth.
5All these were the sons of Heman athe king’s seer to 1exalt him according to the words of God. So God gave fourteen sons and three daughters to Heman. 6All these were under the 1direction of their father to sing in the house of Yahweh, awith cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. bAsaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the 2direction of the king. 7And their number who were trained in singing to Yahweh, with their 1relatives, all who were skillful, was a288.

Responsibilities of the Musicians

8aThey cast lots for their responsibilities, each alongside the other, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the pupil.
9Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, the second for Gedaliah, he with his relatives and sons were twelve; 10the third to Zaccur, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 11the fourth to 1Izri, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 12the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 13the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 14the seventh to 1Jesharelah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 15the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 16the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 17the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 18the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 19the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 20for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 21for the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 22for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 23for the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 24for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 25for the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 26for the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 27for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 28for the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 29for the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 30for the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve; 31for the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve.

Revelation 6

The Seven Seals

6Then I looked when the aLamb opened one of the bseven seals, and I heard one of the cfour living creatures saying as with a dvoice of thunder, “1Come.” 2Then I looked, and behold, a awhite horse, and he who sits on it had a bow; and ba crown was given to him, and he went out covercoming and to overcome.
3And when He opened the second seal, I heard the asecond living creature saying, “Come.” 4And another, aa red horse, went out; and to him who sits on it, it was given to him to btake peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
5And when He opened the third seal, I heard the athird living creature saying, “Come.” Then I looked, and behold, a bblack horse; and he who sits on it had a cpair of scales in his hand. 6And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the afour living creatures saying, “One 1choinix of wheat for one 2denarius, and three 3choinix of barley for one 4denarius, and bdo not harm the oil and the wine.”
7And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the afourth living creature saying, “Come.” 8Then I looked, and behold, a apale horse; and he who sits on it had the name bDeath, and cHades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, dto kill with sword and with famine and with 1pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
9And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw aunderneath the baltar the csouls of those who had been slain dbecause of the word of God, and because of the ewitness which they had maintained; 10and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “aHow long, O bMaster, choly and true? 1Will You not djudge and avenge our blood on ethose who dwell on the earth?” 11And aa white robe was given to each of them; and it was told to them that they should brest for a little while longer, cuntil the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were to be killed even as they had been, would be dcompleted also.
12Then I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great aearthquake; and the bsun became black as csackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13and athe stars of the sky fell to the earth, bas a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14aAnd the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and bevery mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15Then athe kings of the earth and the great men and the 1commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man bhid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16and they *asaid to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the 1presence of Him bwho sits on the throne, and from the 2,cwrath of the Lamb, 17for athe great bday of their 1wrath has come, and cwho is able to stand?”

Ecclesiastes 9

Mankind Is in the Hand of God

9For I have given all this to my heart and explain 1it that righteous men, wise men, and their service are ain the hand of God. bMan does not know whether it will be clove or hatred; anything may be before him.
2aIt is the same for all. There is bone fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who 1is afraid to swear. 3This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is aone fate for all. Furthermore, bthe hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and cmadness is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. 4For whoever is joined with all the living, there is confidence; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. 5For the living know they will die; but the dead ado not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for the bmemory of them is forgotten. 6Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will never again have a aportion in all that is done under the sun.
7Go then, aeat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. 8Let your aclothes be white all the time, and let not boil be lacking on your head. 9See life with the woman whom you love all the days of your avain life, which He has given to you under the sun—all the days of your bvanity; for this is your cportion in life and in your labor in which you have labored under the sun.

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

10Whatever your hand finds to do, ado it with all your might; for there is no bworking or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in cSheol where you are going.
11I again saw under the sun that the arace is not to the swift and the bbattle is not to the mighty, and neither is bread to the wise nor criches to the discerning nor favor to men who know; for time and dmisfortune overtake them all. 12Moreover, man does not aknow his time: like fish seized in an evil net and bbirds seized in a trap, so the sons of men are censnared at an evil time when it dsuddenly falls on them.
13Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and 1it was great to me. 14There awas a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and built large siegeworks against it. 15But there was found in it a apoor wise man, and he provided a way of escape for the city bby his wisdom. Yet cno one remembered that poor man. 16So I said, “aWisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard. 17The awords of the wise heard in restfulness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18aWisdom is better than weapons of war, but bone sinner destroys much good.