1 Chronicles 27

1 Now the number of the children of Israel, that is, the heads of families, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and the men in authority who were servants of the king in anything to do with the divisions which came in and went out month by month through all the months of the year, in every division were twenty-four thousand.

This is a list of the Israeli men who served the king in the army. Some were leaders of families, some were commanders of 100 men, some were commanders of 1,000 men, and some were their officers. There were 24,000 men [DOU] in each group. Each group served one month of each year.

2 Over the first division for the first month was Ishbaal, the son of Zabdiel; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Jashobeam, the son of Zabdiel, was in charge of the group that served during the first month [of each year].

3 He was of the sons of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month.

He was a descendant of Perez, and he was the commander of all the army officers during the first month of each year.

4 And over the division for the second month was Eleazar, the son of Dodai the Ahohite, the ruler; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Dodai, from the clan of Ahohi, was the commander of the group that served during the following/second month of each year. Mikloth was his (assistant/chief officer).

5 The third captain of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the Supreme Priest, was the commander of the group that served during the following/third month.

6 This is the same Benaiah who was the great man of the thirty, chief of the thirty; and in his division was Ammizabad his son.

He was the one who was a mighty warrior among David’s thirty greatest soldiers, and he was their leader. His son Ammizabad was his assistant.

7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel, the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Asahel, Joab’s [younger] brother, was [the commander of the group that served] during the following/fourth month. Asahel’s son Zebadiah became the commander after Asahel [was killed].

8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/fifth month was Shamhuth, a descendant of Izrah.

9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira, the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa [town].

10 The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/seventh month was Helez, a member of the Pelon [clan] from the tribe of Ephraim.

11 The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/eighth month was Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah [town].

12 The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/ninth month was Abiezer from Anathoth [city] in the tribe of Benjamin.

13 The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zerahites; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/tenth month was Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophath [town].

14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the following/eleventh month was Benaiah from Pirathon [town] in the tribe of Ephraim.

15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

The commander for the last month [of each year] was Heldai, a descendant of Othniel from Netophath [town].

16 And over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer, the son of Zichri; of the Simeonites, Shephatiah, the son of Maacah;

This is a list of the administrators of the [twelve] tribes [DOU] of Israel: Eliezer, the son of Zicri, was the administrator of the tribe of Reuben. Shephatiah, the son of Maacah, was the administrator of the tribe of Simeon.

17 Of Levi, Hashabiah, the son of Kemuel; of Aaron, Zadok;

Hashabiah, the son of Kemuel, was the administrator of the tribe of Levi. Zadok was the administrator of the tribe of Aaron.

18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brothers of David; of Issachar, Omri, the son of Michael;

Elihu, David’s [older] brother, was the administrator of the tribe of Judah. Omri, the son of Michael, was the administrator of the tribe of Issachar.

19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah, the son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jerimoth, the son of Azriel;

Ishmaiah, the son of Obadiah, was the administrator of the tribe of Zebulun. Jerimoth, the son of Azriel, was the administrator of the tribe of Naphtali.

20 Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel, the son of Pedaiah;

Hoshea, the son of Azaziah, was the administrator of the tribe of Ephraim. Joel, the son of Pedaiah, was the administrator of the tribe of the [western] half of the tribe of Manasseh.

21 Of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo, the son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel, the son of Abner;

Iddo, the son of Zechariah, was the administrator of the [eastern] half of the tribe of Manasseh, in [the] Gilead [region]. Jaasiel, the son of Abner, was the administrator of the tribe of Benjamin.

22 Of Dan, Azarel, the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.

Azarel, the son of Jeroham, was the administrator of the tribe of Dan. Those were the leaders over the tribes of Israel.

23 But David did not take the number of those who were under twenty years old, for the Lord had said that he would make Israel like the stars of heaven in number.

[When] David [told Joab to count the men of Israel, he] did not [tell him to] count the men who were less then 20 years old, because Yahweh had promised [many years previously] that there would be as many [people] in Israel as there are stars in the sky.

24 The numbering was started by Joab, the son of Zeruiah, but he did not go on to the end; and because of it, wrath came on Israel and the number was not recorded in the history of King David.

Joab [and his helpers] started to count the men of Israel, but they did not finish counting them [because Joab knew that Yahweh was angry about their being counted]. Yahweh punished [MTY] the people of Israel because of this counting, and as a result the total number of Israeli men [able to serve in the army] was not written on the scroll about King David’s [rule].

25 And Azmaveth, the son of Adiel, was controller of the king's property; Jonathan, the son of Uzziah, had control of all store-houses in country places and in the towns and little towns and strong places;

Azmaveth, the son of Adiel, was in charge of the king’s storehouses. Jonathan, the son of Uzziah, was is charge of the storehouses in various towns and villages in Israel, and also in charge of the watchtowers.

26 Ezri, the son of Chelub, had authority over the field-workers and farmers;

Ezri the son of Kelub was in charge of the workers who farmed the land [that belonged to the king].

27 Shimei the Ramathite was responsible for the vine-gardens; Zabdi the Shiphmite was responsible for the produce of the vine-gardens and for all the stores of wine;

Shimei from Ramath [town] was in charge of the king’s vineyards. Zabdi from Shepham [town] was in charge of storing the wine from the [grapes produced in] vineyards.

28 Baal-hanan the Gederite was responsible for the olive-trees and the sycamore-trees in the lowlands; and Joash for the stores of oil;

Baal-Hanan from Geder [city] was in charge of storing the olive oil.

29 And Shitrai the Sharonite was responsible for the herds in the grass-lands of Sharon, and Shaphat, the son of Adlai, for those in the valleys;

Shitrai from the Sharon Plain was in charge of the herds of cattle that (grazed/ate grass) there. Shaphat the son of Adlai was in charge of the cattle in the valleys.

30 Obil the Ishmaelite had control of the camels and Jehdeiah the Meronothite of the she-asses;

Obil, a descendant of Ishmael, was in charge of the camels. Jehdeiah from Meronoth [town] was in charge of the donkeys.

31 The flocks were in the care of Jaziz the Hagarite. All these were the controllers of King David's property.

Jaziz, a descendant of Hagar, was in charge of the [king’s] flocks of sheep. All of those officials were in charge of the things that belonged to King David.

32 Now Jonathan, David's father's brother, expert in discussion, and a man of good sense, was a scribe; and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni, had the care of the king's sons;

David’s uncle Jonathan was a wise counselor for him. Jehiel, the son of Hacmoni, taught the king’s sons.

33 And Ahithophel was the king's expert in discussion and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend.

Ahithophel was the king’s official counselor.

34 After Ahithophel was Jehoiada, the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar; and the captain of the king's army was Joab.

Hushai from the Ark people-group was the king’s special friend. Benaiah’s son Jehoiada became the king’s advisor after Ahithophel died, and later Abiathar became his advisor. Joab was the chief commander of the army.