1Chronicles 22-24; Psalms 69 - Prayer Tents

22Then David said, "This will be the location for the Temple of the LORD God and the place of the altar for Israel's burnt offerings!"H1732H559H1004H3068H430H4196H5930H3478

Preparations for the Temple

2So David gave orders to call together the foreigners living in Israel, and he assigned them the task of preparing finished stone for building the Temple of God.H1732H559H3664H1616H776H3478H5975H2672H2672H1496H68H1129H1004H430 3David provided large amounts of iron for the nails that would be needed for the doors in the gates and for the clamps, and he gave more bronze than could be weighed.H1732H3559H1270H7230H4548H1817H8179H4226H5178H7230H4948 4He also provided innumerable cedar logs, for the men of Tyre and Sidon had brought vast amounts of cedar to David.H730H6086H369H4557H6722H6876H935H7230H730H6086H1732 5David said, "My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced. And since the Temple to be built for the LORD must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world, I will begin making preparations for it now." So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.H1732H559H8010H1121H5288H7390H1004H1129H3068H4605H1431H8034H8597H776H3559H1732H3559H7230H6440H4194 6Then David sent for his son Solomon and instructed him to build a Temple for the LORD, the God of Israel.H7121H8010H1121H6680H1129H1004H3068H430H3478 7"My son, I wanted to build a Temple to honor the name of the LORD my God," David told him.H1732H559H8010H1121H3824H1129H1004H8034H3068H430 8"But the LORD said to me, 'You have killed many men in the battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood in my sight, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name.H1697H3068H559H8210H1818H7230H6213H1419H4421H1129H1004H8034H8210H7227H1818H776H6440 9But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.H1121H3205H376H4496H5117H341H5439H8034H8010H5414H7965H8253H3478H3117 10He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'H1129H1004H8034H1121H1H3559H3678H4438H3478H5704H5769 11"Now, my son, may the LORD be with you and give you success as you follow his directions in building the Temple of the LORD your God.H1121H3068H6743H1129H1004H3068H430H1696 12And may the LORD give you wisdom and understanding, that you may obey the Law of the LORD your God as you rule over Israel.H3068H5414H7922H998H6680H3478H8104H8451H3068H430 13For you will be successful if you carefully obey the decrees and regulations that the LORD gave to Israel through Moses. Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or lose heart!H6743H8104H6213H2706H4941H3068H6680H4872H3478H2388H553H3372H2865 14"I have worked hard to provide materials for building the Temple of the LORD—nearly 4,000 tons of gold, 40,000 tons of silver, and so much iron and bronze that it cannot be weighed. I have also gathered timber and stone for the walls, though you may need to add more.H6040H3559H1004H3068H3967H505H3603H2091H505H505H3603H3701H5178H1270H4948H7230H6086H68H3559H3254 15You have a large number of skilled stonemasons and carpenters and craftsmen of every kind.H6213H4399H7230H2672H2796H68H6086H2450H4399 16You have expert goldsmiths and silversmiths and workers of bronze and iron. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you!"H2091H3701H5178H1270H4557H6965H6213H3068 17Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon in this project.H1732H6680H8269H3478H5826H8010H1121 18"The LORD your God is with you," he declared. "He has given you peace with the surrounding nations. He has handed them over to me, and they are now subject to the LORD and his people.H3068H430H5117H5439H5414H3427H776H3027H776H3533H6440H3068H6440H5971 19Now seek the LORD your God with all your heart and soul. Build the sanctuary of the LORD God so that you can bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the LORD's name."H5414H3824H5315H1875H3068H430H6965H1129H4720H3068H430H935H727H1285H3068H6944H3627H430H1004H1129H8034H3068

Duties of the Levites

23When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel.H1732H2204H7646H3117H8010H1121H4427H3478 2David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites.H622H8269H3478H3548H3881 3All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000.H3881H5608H1121H7970H8141H4605H4557H1538H1397H7970H8083H505 4Then David said, "From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the LORD. Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges.H428H6242H702H505H5329H4399H1004H3068H8337H505H7860H8199 5Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made."H702H505H7778H702H505H1984H3068H3627H6213H1984 6Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.H1732H2505H4256H1121H3878H1648H6955H4847

The Gershonites

7The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon.H1649H3936H8096 8Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel.H1121H3936H7218H3171H2241H3100H7969 9These were the leaders of the family of Libni. Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.H1121H8096H8019H8013H2381H2039H7969H7218H1H3936 10Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.H1121H8096H3189H2126H3266H1283H702H1121H8096 11Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.H3189H7218H2125H8145H3266H1283H7235H1121H259H6486H1H1004

The Kohathites

12Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.H1121H6955H6019H3324H2275H5816H702 13The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the LORD's presence, to serve the LORD, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.H1121H6019H175H4872H175H914H6942H6944H6944H1121H5704H5769H6999H6440H3068H8334H1288H8034H5704H5769 14As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.H4872H376H430H1121H7121H7626H3878 15The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.H1121H4872H1647H461 16The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader.H1121H1647H7619H7218 17Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants.H1121H461H7345H7218H461H312H1121H1121H7345H4605H7235 18The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader.H1121H3324H8019H7218 19The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).H1121H2275H3404H7218H568H8145H3166H7992H3360H7243 20The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).H1121H5816H4318H7218H3449H8145

The Merarites

21The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.H1121H4847H4249H4187H1121H4249H499H7027 22Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.H499H4191H1121H1323H251H1121H7027H5375 23Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.H1121H4187H4249H5740H3406H7969 24These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the LORD.H1121H3878H1004H1H7218H1H6485H4557H8034H1538H6213H4399H5656H1004H3068H1121H6242H8141H4605 25For David said, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem.H1732H559H3068H430H3478H5117H5971H7931H3389H5769 26Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place."H3881H5375H4908H3627H5656 27In accordance with David's final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service.H314H1697H1732H3881H4557H6242H8141H1121H4605 28The work of the Levites was to assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the house of the LORD. They also took care of the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in many other ways in the house of God.H4612H3027H1121H175H5656H1004H3068H2691H3957H2893H6944H4639H5656H1004H430 29They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures.H3899H4635H5560H4503H4682H7550H4227H7246H4884H4060 30And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him.H5975H1242H3034H1984H3068H6153 31They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the LORD on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the LORD's presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given.H5927H5930H3068H7676H2320H4150H4557H4941H8548H6440H3068 32And so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the LORD.H8104H4931H168H4150H4931H6944H4931H1121H175H251H5656H1004H3068

Duties of the Priests

24This is how Aaron's descendants, the priests, were divided into groups for service. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.H4256H1121H175H1121H175H5070H30H499H385 2But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons. So only Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry on as priests.H5070H30H4191H6440H1H1121H499H385H3547 3With the help of Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and of Ahimelech, who was a descendant of Ithamar, David divided Aaron's descendants into groups according to their various duties.H1732H2505H6659H1121H499H288H1121H385H6486H5656 4Eleazar's descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar's into eight, for there were more family leaders among the descendants of Eleazar.H7227H7218H1397H4672H1121H499H1121H385H2505H1121H499H8337H6240H7218H1004H1H8083H1121H385H1004H1 5All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.H2505H1486H428H428H8269H6944H8269H430H1121H499H1121H385 6Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, acted as secretary and wrote down the names and assignments in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar took turns casting lots.H8098H1121H5417H5608H3881H3789H6440H4428H8269H6659H3548H288H1121H54H7218H1H3548H3881H259H1H1004H270H499H270H385 7The first lot fell to Jehoiarib. The second lot fell to Jedaiah.H7223H1486H3318H3080H8145H3048 8The third lot fell to Harim. The fourth lot fell to Seorim.H7992H2766H7243H8188 9The fifth lot fell to Malkijah. The sixth lot fell to Mijamin.H2549H4441H8345H4326 10The seventh lot fell to Hakkoz. The eighth lot fell to Abijah.H7637H6976H8066H29 11The ninth lot fell to Jeshua. The tenth lot fell to Shecaniah.H8671H3442H6224H7935 12The eleventh lot fell to Eliashib. The twelfth lot fell to Jakim.H6249H6240H475H8147H6240H3356 13The thirteenth lot fell to Huppah. The fourteenth lot fell to Jeshebeab.H7969H6240H2647H702H6240H3428 14The fifteenth lot fell to Bilgah. The sixteenth lot fell to Immer.H2568H6240H1083H8337H6240H564 15The seventeenth lot fell to Hezir. The eighteenth lot fell to Happizzez.H7651H6240H2387H8083H6240H6483 16The nineteenth lot fell to Pethahiah. The twentieth lot fell to Jehezkel.H8672H6240H6611H6242H3168 17The twenty-first lot fell to Jakin. The twenty-second lot fell to Gamul.H259H6242H3199H8147H6242H1577 18The twenty-third lot fell to Delaiah. The twenty-fourth lot fell to Maaziah.H7969H6242H1806H702H6242H4590 19Each group carried out its appointed duties in the house of the LORD according to the procedures established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the LORD, the God of Israel.H6486H5656H935H1004H3068H4941H3027H175H1H3068H430H3478H6680

Family Leaders among the Levites

20These were the other family leaders descended from Levi: From the descendants of Amram, the leader was Shebuel. From the descendants of Shebuel, the leader was Jehdeiah.H3498H1121H3878H1121H6019H7619H1121H7619H3165 21From the descendants of Rehabiah, the leader was Isshiah.H7345H1121H7345H7218H3449 22From the descendants of Izhar, the leader was Shelomith. From the descendants of Shelomith, the leader was Jahath.H3325H8013H1121H8013H3189 23From the descendants of Hebron, Jeriah was the leader, Amariah was second, Jahaziel was third, and Jekameam was fourth.H1121H3404H568H8145H3166H7992H3360H7243 24From the descendants of Uzziel, the leader was Micah. From the descendants of Micah, the leader was Shamir,H1121H5816H4318H1121H4318H8053 25along with Isshiah, the brother of Micah. From the descendants of Isshiah, the leader was Zechariah.H251H4318H3449H1121H3449H2148 26From the descendants of Merari, the leaders were Mahli and Mushi. From the descendants of Jaaziah, the leader was Beno.H1121H4847H4249H4187H1121H3269H1121 27From the descendants of Merari through Jaaziah, the leaders were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.H1121H4847H3269H1121H7719H2139H5681 28From the descendants of Mahli, the leader was Eleazar, though he had no sons.H4249H499H1121 29From the descendants of Kish, the leader was Jerahmeel.H7027H1121H7027H3396 30From the descendants of Mushi, the leaders were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the descendants of Levi in their various families.H1121H4187H4249H5740H3406H1121H3881H1004H1 31Like the descendants of Aaron, they were assigned to their duties by means of sacred lots, without regard to age or rank. Lots were drawn in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the family leaders of the priests and the Levites.H5307H1486H5980H251H1121H175H6440H1732H4428H6659H288H7218H1H3548H3881H7218H1H5980H6996H251

69[For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Lilies.”] Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck.H5329H7799H1732H3467H430H4325H935H5315 2Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me.H2883H4688H3121H4613H935H4615H4325H7641H7857 3I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.H3021H7121H1627H2787H5869H3615H3176H430 4Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, demanding that I give back what I didn’t steal.H8130H2600H7231H8185H7218H6789H341H8267H6105H7725H1497 5O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you.H430H3045H200H819H3582 6Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me, O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel.H6960H136H3069H6635H954H1245H3637H430H3478 7For I endure insults for your sake; humiliation is written all over my face.H5375H2781H3639H3680H6440 8Even my own brothers pretend they don’t know me; they treat me like a stranger.H2114H251H5237H517H1121 9Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.H7068H1004H398H2781H2778H5307 10When I weep and fast, they scoff at me.H1058H5315H6685H2781 11When I dress in burlap to show sorrow, they make fun of me.H5414H8242H3830H4912 12I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me.H3427H8179H7878H5058H8354H7941 13But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation.H8605H3068H7522H6256H430H7230H2617H6030H571H3468 14Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters.H5337H2916H2883H5337H8130H4615H4325 15Don’t let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me.H4325H7641H7857H4688H1104H875H332H6310 16Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful.H6030H3068H2617H2896H6437H7230H7356 17Don’t hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!H5641H6440H5650H6887H6030H4118 18Come and redeem me; free me from my enemies.H7126H5315H1350H6299H341 19You know of my shame, scorn, and disgrace. You see all that my enemies are doing.H3045H2781H1322H3639H6887 20Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.H2781H7665H3820H5136H6960H5110H5162H4672 21But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst.H5414H7219H1267H6772H2558H8248 22Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare and their prosperity become a trap.H7979H6341H6440H7965H4170 23Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and make their bodies shake continually.H5869H2821H7200H4975H8548H4571 24Pour out your fury on them; consume them with your burning anger.H8210H2195H2740H639H5381 25Let their homes become desolate and their tents be deserted.H2918H8074H3427H168 26To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; they add to the pain of those you have hurt.H7291H5221H5608H4341H2491 27Pile their sins up high, and don’t let them go free.H5414H5771H5771H935H6666 28Erase their names from the Book of Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous.H4229H5612H2416H3789H6662 29I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power.H6041H3510H3444H430H7682 30Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving.H1984H8034H430H7892H1431H8426 31For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.H3190H3068H3190H7794H6499H7160H6536 32The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.H6035H7200H8055H3824H2421H1875H430 33For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.H3068H8085H34H959H615 34Praise him, O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them.H8064H776H1984H3220H7430 35For God will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and settle in their own land.H430H3467H6726H1129H5892H3063H3427H3423 36The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there in safety.H2233H5650H5157H157H8034H7931