The Daily Audio Bible

¹² The divisions of the Temple guards were named after the leaders. Like the other Levites, they were responsible to minister at the Temple. ¹³ They were assigned guard duty at the various gates without regard to the reputation of their families, for it was all done by coin-toss. ^14-15 The responsibility of the east gate went to Shelemiah and his group; of the north gate to his son Zechariah, a man of unusual wisdom; of the south gate to Obed-edom and his group (his sons were given charge of the storehouses); ¹⁶ of the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road, to Shuppim and Hosah. ¹⁷ Six guards were assigned daily to the east gate, four to the north gate, four to the south gate, and two to each of the storehouses. ¹⁸ Six guards were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the upper road, and two to the nearby areas. ¹⁹ The Temple guards were chosen from the clans of Korah and Merari.

^20-22 Other Levites, led by Ahijah, were given the care of the gifts brought to the Lord and placed in the Temple treasury. These men of the Ladan subclan from the clan of Gershom included Zetham and Joel, the sons of Jehieli. ^23-24 Shebuel, son of Gershom and grandson of Moses, was the chief officer of the treasury. He was in charge of the divisions named after Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁵ The line of descendants from Eliezer went through Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zichri, and Shelomoth. ²⁶ Shelomoth and his brothers were appointed to care for the gifts given to the Lord by King David and the other leaders of the nation such as the officers and generals of the army. ²⁷ For these men dedicated their war loot to support the operating expenses of the Temple. ²⁸ Shelomoth and his brothers were also responsible for the care of the items dedicated to the Lord by Samuel the prophet, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, Joab the son of Zeruiah, and anyone else of distinction^[a] who brought gifts to the Lord.

²⁹ Chenaniah and his sons (from the subclan of Izhar) were appointed public administrators and judges. ³⁰ Hashabiah and 1,700 of his clansmen from Hebron, all outstanding men, were placed in charge of the territory of Israel west of the Jordan River; they were responsible for the religious affairs and public administration of that area. ^31-32 Twenty-seven hundred outstanding men of the clan of the Hebronites, under the supervision of Jerijah, were appointed to control the religious and public affairs of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. These men, all of whom had excellent qualifications, were appointed on the basis of their ancestry and ability at Jazer in Gilead in the fortieth year of King David’s reign.

27 The Israeli army was divided into twelve regiments, each with 24,000 troops, including officers and administrative staff. These units were called up for active duty one month each year. Here is the list of the units and their regimental commanders:

^2-3 The commander of the First Division was Jashobeam. He had charge of 24,000 troops who were on duty the first month of each year.

⁴ The commander of the Second Division was Dodai (a descendant of Ahohi). He had charge of 24,000 troops who were on duty the second month of each year. Mikloth was his executive officer.

^5-6 The commander of the Third Division was Benaiah. His 24,000 men were on duty the third month of each year. (He was the son of Jehoiada the High Priest and was the chief of The Thirty, a group including the mightiest of David’s men.) His son Ammizabad succeeded him as division commander.

⁷ The commander of the Fourth Division was Asahel (the brother of Joab), who was later replaced by his son Zebadiah. He had 24,000 men on duty the fourth month of each year.

⁸ The commander of the Fifth Division was Shamuth from Izrah, with 24,000 men on duty the fifth month of each year.

⁹ The commander of the Sixth Division was Ira, the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa; he had 24,000 men on duty the sixth month of each year.

¹⁰ The commander of the Seventh Division was Helez from Pelona in Ephraim, with 24,000 men on duty the seventh month of each year.

¹¹ The commander of the Eighth Division was Sibbecai of the Hushite subclan from Zerah, who had 24,000 men on duty the eighth month of each year.

¹² The commander of the Ninth Division was Abiezer (from Anathoth in the tribe of Benjamin), who commanded 24,000 troops during the ninth month of each year.

¹³ The commander of the Tenth Division was Maharai from Netophah in Zerah, with 24,000 men on duty the tenth month of each year.

¹⁴ The commander of the Eleventh Division was Benaiah from Pirathon in Ephraim, with 24,000 men on duty during the eleventh month of each year.

¹⁵ The commander of the Twelfth Division was Heldai from Netophah in the area of Othniel, who commanded 24,000 men on duty during the twelfth month of each year.

^16-22 The top political officers of the tribes of Israel were as follows:

²³ When David took his census, he didn’t include the twenty-year-olds or those younger, for the Lord had promised a population explosion for his people.^{[b] 24} Joab began the census, but he never finished it, for the anger of God broke out upon Israel; the final total was never put into the annals of King David.

²⁵ Azmaveth (son of Adiel) was the chief financial officer in charge of the palace treasuries, and Jonathan (son of Uzziah) was chief of the regional treasuries throughout the cities, villages, and fortresses of Israel.

²⁶ Ezri (son of Chelub) was manager of the laborers on the king’s estates. ²⁷ And Shimei from Ramath had the oversight of the king’s vineyards; and Zabdi from Shiphma was responsible for his wine production and storage. ²⁸ Baal-hanan from Gedera was responsible for the king’s olive yards and sycamore trees in the lowlands bordering Philistine territory, while Joash had charge of the supplies of olive oil.

²⁹ Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the plains of Sharon, and Shaphat (son of Adlai) had charge of those in the valleys. ³⁰ Obil, from the territory of Ishmael, had charge of the camels, and Jehdeiah from Meronoth had charge of the donkeys. ³¹ The sheep were under the care of Jaziz the Hagrite. These men were King David’s overseers.

³² The attendant to the king’s sons was Jonathan, David’s uncle, a wise counselor and an educated man.^[c] Jehiel (the son of Hachmoni) was their tutor.

³³ Ahithophel was the king’s official counselor, and Hushai the Archite was his personal advisor. ³⁴ Ahithophel was assisted by Jehoiada (the son of Benaiah) and by Abiathar. Joab was commander-in-chief of the Israeli army.

¹³ It is clear, then, that God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not because Abraham obeyed God’s laws but because he trusted God to keep his promise. ¹⁴ So if you still claim that God’s blessings go to those who are “good enough,” then you are saying that God’s promises to those who have faith are meaningless, and faith is foolish. ¹⁵ But the fact of the matter is this: when we try to gain God’s blessing and salvation by keeping his laws we always end up under his anger, for we always fail to keep them. The only way we can keep from breaking laws is not to have any to break!

¹⁶ So God’s blessings are given to us by faith, as a free gift; we are certain to get them whether or not we follow Jewish customs if we have faith like Abraham’s, for Abraham is the father of us all when it comes to these matters of faith. ¹⁷ That is what the Scriptures mean when they say that God made Abraham the father of many nations. God will accept all people in every nation who trust God as Abraham did. And this promise is from God himself, who makes the dead live again and speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past.

¹⁸ So, when God told Abraham that he would give him a son who would have many descendants and become a great nation, Abraham believed God even though such a promise just couldn’t come to pass! ¹⁹ And because his faith was strong, he didn’t worry about the fact that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred, and that Sarah his wife, at ninety,^[a] was also much too old to have a baby.

²⁰ But Abraham never doubted. He believed God, for his faith and trust grew ever stronger, and he praised God for this blessing even before it happened. ²¹ He was completely sure that God was well able to do anything he promised. ²² And because of Abraham’s faith God forgave his sins and declared him “not guilty.”

²³ Now this wonderful statement—that he was accepted and approved through his faith—wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. ²⁴ It was for us, too, assuring us that God will accept us in the same way he accepted Abraham—when we believe the promises of God who brought back Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God,^[b] filling us with God’s goodness.

5 So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.

³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. ⁴ And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. ⁵ Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

14 That man is a fool who says to himself, “There is no God!” Anyone who talks like that is warped and evil and cannot really be a good person at all.

² The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God. ³ But no, all have strayed away; all are rotten with sin. Not one is good, not one! ⁴ They eat my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying! Don’t they really know any better?

⁵ Terror shall grip them, for God is with those who love him. ⁶ He is the refuge of the poor and humble when evildoers are oppressing them. ⁷ Oh, that the time of their rescue were already here, that God would come from Zion now to save his people. What gladness when the Lord has rescued Israel!

¹⁷ When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord—and he pays wonderful interest on your loan!