1 Chronicles 24
The full text of 1 Chronicles 24 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron: The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests.
3 With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering.
4 A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar's descendants than among Ithamar's, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar's descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar's descendants.
5 They divided them impartially by casting lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.
6 The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites — one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.
7 The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
8 the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
9 the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
11 the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,
12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
14 the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
15 the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,
17 the twenty-first to Jakin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
18 the twenty-third to Delaiah and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
19 This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20 As for the rest of the descendants of Levi: from the sons of Amram, Shubael; from the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.
21 As for Rehabiah, from his sons, Ishiah was the first.
22 From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath.
23 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
24 The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah, Shamir.
25 The brother of Micah: Ishiah; from the sons of Ishiah, Zechariah.
26 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.
27 The sons of Merari through Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.
28 From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 From Kish, the son of Kish: Jerahmeel.
30 And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the Levites, according to their families.
31 They also cast lots, just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.
Translation notes (6)
- 1 Chronicles 24:5a The Hebrew be’goralot, 'by casting lots', indicates a divine, impartial assignment of the priestly divisions, as lot casting was understood to reveal God’s will. The phrase sar ha-qodesh refers to ‘officials of the sanctuary’.
- 1 Chronicles 24:6a The phrase 'Ahimelek son of Abiathar' inverts the relationship given in 1 Samuel 22:20, where Abiathar is the son of Ahimelech; the same sequence appears in 2 Samuel 8:17 and 1 Chronicles 18:16. Many explain the inversion by the common practice of naming a grandson after his grandfather, so that this Ahimelek would be Abiathar's son and the elder Ahimelech's grandson.
- 1 Chronicles 24:10a The eighth division, Abijah, is the priestly course to which Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, belonged (Luke 1:5). These twenty-four divisions, organized under David, continued to structure priestly service in the Second Temple period, each course serving in the sanctuary by rotation.
- 1 Chronicles 24:19a The word translated 'regulations' is mishpat, literally 'ordinance' or 'custom', here denoting the fixed protocol governing priestly service. By tracing the twenty-four divisions back through Aaron to a direct divine command, the Chronicler grounds David's new rotation system in the authority of the Torah itself (Exodus 28-29; Leviticus 8).
- 1 Chronicles 24:27a The name Beno represents Hebrew beno (בְּנוֹ), literally 'his son', and many interpreters take it not as a personal name but as an appositive, yielding 'the sons of Merari through Jaaziah his son'. This translation retains it as a name with the Masoretic accentuation, since the verse otherwise counts him among Jaaziah's sons alongside Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.
- 1 Chronicles 24:31a The closing clause is literally 'the head fathers alongside his younger brother', where le'ummat (לְעֻמַּת), 'alongside' or 'on equal footing with', signals that the lot ignored seniority. As with the priestly divisions earlier in the chapter, casting lots removed any advantage of primogeniture in assigning the Levites their order of service.
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