The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  11So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Choose for yourself,

  12h‘either 4three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the LORD—the plague in the land, with the 5angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

  13And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His imercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

  14So the LORD sent a jplague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.

  15And God sent 6an kangel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As 7he was destroying, the LORD looked and lrelented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain 8your hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the mthreshing floor of 9Ornan the Jebusite.

  16Then David lifted his eyes and nsaw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.

  17And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these osheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

  18Therefore, the pangel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

  19So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD.

  20Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat.

  21So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground.

  22Then David said to Ornan, 10“Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the LORD. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

  23But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”

  24Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.”

  25So qDavid gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.

  26And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and rHe answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. Temple Duties

  27So the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

  28At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.

  29sFor the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in tGibeon.

  30But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

  1 Chronicles 22

  David Prepares to Build the Temple

  1Then David said, a“This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

  2So David commanded to gather the baliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ccut hewn stones to build the house of God.

  3And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance dbeyond measure,

  4and cedar trees in abundance; for the eSidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

  5Now David said, f“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

  6Then he called for his son Solomon, and 1charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel.

  7And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, git was in my mind to build a house hto the name of the LORD my God;

  8“but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, i‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight.

  9j‘Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him krest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be 2Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

  10l‘He shall build a house for My name, and mhe shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

  11“Now, my son, may nthe LORD be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the LORD your God, as He has said to you.

  12“Only may the LORD ogive you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.

  13p“Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the LORD 3charged Moses concerning Israel. qBe strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.

  14“Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the LORD one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron rbeyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them.

  15“Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work.

  16“Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and sthe LORD be with you.”

  17David also commanded all the tleaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,

  18“Is not the LORD your God with you? uAnd has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and before His people.

  19“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, to vbring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built wfor the name of the LORD.”

  1 Chronicles 23

  The Divisions of the Levites

  1So when David was old and full of days, he made his son aSolomon king over Israel.

  2And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

  3Now the Levites were numbered from the age of bthirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand.

  4Of these, twenty-four thousand were to clook after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were dofficers and judges,

  5four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand epraised the LORD with musical instruments, f“which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

  6Also gDavid separated them into 1divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

  7Of the hGershonites: 2Laadan and Shimei.

  8The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all.

  9The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan.

  10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, 3Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei.

  11Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father’s house.

  12iThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

  13The
sons of jAmram: Aaron and Moses; and kAaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should 4sanctify the most holy things, lto burn incense before the LORD, mto minister to Him, and nto give the blessing in His name forever.

  14Now othe sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.

  15pThe sons of Moses were 5Gershon and Eliezer.

  16Of the sons of Gershon, qShebuel6 was the first.

  17Of the descendants of Eliezer, rRehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

  18Of the sons of Izhar, sShelomith was the first.

  19tOf the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

  20Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.

  21uThe sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and vKish.

  22And Eleazar died, and whad no sons, but only daughters; and their 7brethren, the sons of Kish, xtook them as wives.

  23yThe sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

  24These were the sons of zLevi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of atwenty years and above.

  25For David said, “The LORD God of Israel bhas given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”;

  26and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer ccarry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.”

  27For by the dlast words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above;

  28because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God,

  29both with ethe showbread and fthe fine flour for the grain offering, with gthe unleavened cakes and hwhat is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of imeasures and sizes;

  30to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening;

  31and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the LORD jon the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the kset8 feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the LORD;

  32and that they should lattend to the mneeds of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the nneeds of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the LORD.

  1 Chronicles 24

  The Divisions of the Priests

  1Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. aThe sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

  2And bNadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests.

  3Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and cAhimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service.

  4There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar.

  5Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar.

  6And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites, one father’s house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.

  7Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

  8the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

  9the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

  10the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to dAbijah,

  11the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

  12the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

  13the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

  14the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

  15the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to 1Happizzez,

  16the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to 2Jehezekel,

  17the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,

  18the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

  19This was the schedule of their service efor coming into the house of the LORD according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

  Other Levites

  20And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, 3Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.

  21Concerning fRehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah.

  22Of the Izharites, 4Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath.

  23Of the sons 5of gHebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

  24Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir.

  25The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.

  26hThe sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno.

  27The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

  28Of Mahli: Eleazar, iwho had no sons.

  29Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerahmeel.

  30Also jthe sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

  31These also cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their younger brethren.

  1 Chronicles 25

  The Musicians

  1Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of aAsaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was:

  2Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and 1Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were 2under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king.

  3Of bJeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, 3Zeri, Jeshaiah, 4Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, 5six, under the direction 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, 6Uzziel, 7Shebuel, 8Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.

  5All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to 9exalt his chorn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

  6All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and dharps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were eunder the authority of the king.

  7So the fnumber of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.

  8And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, gthe teacher with the student.

  9Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah, him with his brethren and sons, twelve;

  10the third for Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  11the fourth for 10Jizri, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  12the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  13the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  14the seventh for 11Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  15the eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  16the ninth for Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  17the tenth
for Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  18the eleventh for 12Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  19the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  20the thirteenth for 13Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  21the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  22the fifteenth for 14Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  23the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  24the seventeenth for Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  25the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  26the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  27the twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  28the twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  29the twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  30the twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve;

  31the twenty-fourth for Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.

  1 Chronicles 26

  The Gatekeepers

  1Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, 1Meshelemiah the son of aKore, of the sons of 2Asaph.

  2And the sons of Meshelemiah were bZechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,

  3Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.

  4Moreover the sons of cObed-Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth,

  5Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him.

  6Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability.

  7The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men.

  8All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, dable men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom.