1 Chronicles 9

1 So all Israel was listed by their families; and, truly, they are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. And Judah was taken away as prisoners to Babylon because of their sin.

The [names of all the] people of Israel were listed/written with the names of their clans, and that information was written in the scroll/book named ‘The Record of the Kings of Israel’. [Many of] the people of Judah were captured and forced to go to Babylon. That happened because they did not faithfully [do what was pleasing to] God.

2 Now the first to take up their heritage in their towns were: Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.

The first people who returned [to Judah 70 years later] and lived in their own land and in their own cities and towns were some Israeli priests, other descendants of Levi, and men who worked in the temple.

3 And in Jerusalem there were living some of the sons of Judah, and of Benjamin, and of Ephraim and Manasseh;

[Other] people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh [also returned to Judah and] lived in Jerusalem. This is a list of those people [of the tribe of Judah]:

4 Uthai, the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the sons of Perez, the son of Judah.

Uthai the son of Ammihud. Ammihud was the son of Omri; Omri was the son of Imri; Imri was the son of Bani; Bani was a descendant of Perez; Perez was the son of Judah.

5 And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the oldest, and his sons.

Asaiah and his sons were descendants of Shelah. Asaiah was the oldest son in his family.

6 And of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brothers, six hundred and ninety.

Jeuel and others of his relatives in Zerah’s clan. There were 690 people in this clan.

7 And of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu, the son of Meshullam, Judah, the son of Hassenuah,

From the tribe of Benjamin, Sallu, the son of Meshullam. Meshullam was the son of Hodaviah; Hodaviah was the son of Hassenuah.

8 And Ibneiah, the son of Jeroham, and Elah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

Ibneiah the son of Jeroham. Elah the son of Uzzi. Uzzi was the son of Micri. Meshullam the son of Shephatiah. Shephatiah was the son of Reuel; Reuel was the son of Ibnijah.

9 And their brothers, in the list of their generations, nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of families, listed by the names of their fathers.

In other records of the people descended from Benjamin, there are the names of 956 people who were living in Jerusalem. All these were leaders of their clans.

10 And of the priests: Jedaiah and Jehoiarib and Jachin

Some of the priests [who returned to Judah were]: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin,

11 And Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God;

and Azariah who was the son of Hilkiah. Hilkiah who was the son of Meshullam; Meshullam who was the son of Zadok, Zadok who was the son of Meraioth; Meraioth who was the son of Ahitub; Ahitub who supervised the temple guards;

12 And Adaiah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai, the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;

Adaiah who was the son of Jeroham; Jeroham who was the son of Pashhur; Pashhur who was the son of Malchijah; Maasai who was the son of Adiel; Adiel who was the son of Jahzerah; Jahzerah who was the son of Meshullam; Meshullam who was the son of Meshillemith; Meshillemith who was the son of Immer.

13 And their brothers, heads of their families, a thousand and seven hundred and sixty: able men, doing the work of the house of God.

Altogether there were 1,760 priests [who returned to Judah]. They were leaders of their clans, and they all were responsible for doing work in the temple of God.

14 And of the Levites: Shemaiah, the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;

From the descendants of Levi [who returned to Judah] there was Shemaiah the son of Hasshub. Hasshub was the son of Azrikam; Azrikam was the son of Hashabiah; Hashabiah was a descendant of [Levi’s youngest son] Merari.

15 And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah, the son of Mica, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph;

[Other descendants of Levi who returned to Judah were] Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Mica. Mica was the son if Zicri; Zicri was the son of Asaph.

16 And Obadiah, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah, the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who were living in the small towns of the Netophathites.

There was also Obadiah the son of Shemaiah. Shemaiah was the son of Galal. Galal was the son of Jeduthun. There was also Berekiah the son of Asa. Asa was the son of Elkanah, who lived in one of the villages where the Netophath people-clan lived.

17 And the door-keepers: Shallum and Akkub and Talmon and Ahiman and their brothers: Shallum was the chief.

From the [descendants of Levi who returned to Judah] who guarded the temple gates there were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and some of their relatives. Shallum was their leader.

18 Up till then they had been at the king's door to the east. They were door-keepers for the tents of the sons of Levi.

Those gatekeepers from the tribe of Levi stood at the King’s Gate on the east side [of the temple].

19 And Shallum, the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers, of his family, the Korahites, were responsible for everything which had to be done in connection with the order of worship, keepers of the doors of the Tent; their fathers had had the care of the tents of the Lord, being keepers of the doorway.

Shallum was the son of Kore. Kore was the son of Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph was the son of Korah. Shallum and his relatives were gatekeepers, and they were responsible to guard the gates of the Sacred Tent of Yahweh, like their ancestors had done.

20 In the past Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, had been ruler over them; may the Lord be with him!

Previously Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, had supervised the gatekeepers, and Yahweh (was with/helped) Phinehas.

21 Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was keeper of the door of the Tent of meeting.

Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

22 There were two hundred and twelve whose business it was to keep the doorway. These were listed by families in the country places where they were living, whom David and Samuel the seer put in their responsible positions.

Altogether, there were 212 men who were chosen to guard the gates. Their names were written in the records of the clans in their villages. [King] David and the prophet Samuel appointed/chose those men because those men (were dependable/always did what they were told to do).

23 So they and their sons had the care of the doors of the house of the Lord, the house of the Tent, as watchers.

The work of those gatekeepers and their descendants was to guard the entrances of the Sacred Tent of Yahweh. That was before the temple was built to replace the Sacred Tent.

24 There were keepers of the doors on the four sides, to the east, west, north, and south.

There were gatekeepers on each of the four sides of the Sacred Tent.

25 And their brothers, in the country places where they were living, were to come in every seven days to be with them from time to time.

Sometimes it was necessary for the relatives of the gatekeepers who lived in those villages to come and help them. Each time some of them came, they helped the gatekeepers for seven days.

26 For the four chief door-keepers, who were Levites, had a special position, looking after the rooms and the store-houses of the house of God.

There were four descendants of Levi who [worked every day, and they] supervised the gatekeepers. They also took care of the rooms and treasures in the Sacred Tent of God.

27 Their sleeping-rooms were round the house of God, for they had the care of it, and were responsible for opening it morning by morning.

They remained awake all during the night to guard the Sacred Tent, and each morning they opened the gates.

28 Certain of them had the care of the vessels used in worship, to keep an account of them when they came in and when they were taken out again.

Some of the gatekeepers took care of the articles that were used in worship. They also took care of the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices [that were used in the sacrifices].

29 And some of them were responsible for the holy things and for the vessels of the holy place, and the meal and the wine and the oil and the perfume and the spices.

Other gatekeepers were appointed to take care of the other things in the Sacred Tent.

30 And some of the sons of the priests were responsible for crushing the spices.

But some of the priests had the work of mixing the spices.

31 And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the oldest son of Shallum the Korahite, was responsible for cooking the flat cakes.

There was a descendant of Levi named Mattithiah, the oldest son of Shallum, who was a descendant of Korah. He (was very dependable/always did what he was told to do), so they gave him {he was given} the work of baking the bread that was used in the offerings [on the altar].

32 And some of their brothers, sons of the Kohathites, were responsible for the holy bread which was put in order before the Lord, to get it ready every Sabbath.

Some of the gatekeepers who were descended from Kohath prepared the freshly baked loaves of sacred bread that were placed on the table [inside the Sacred Tent] every Sabbath/rest day.

33 And these were those who had the ordering of the music and songs, heads of families of the Levites, who were living in the rooms, and were free from other work, for their work went on day and night.

Some of the descendants of Levi were musicians who worked in the Sacred Tent. The leaders of those families [stayed/slept] in the rooms [of the Sacred Tent]. They did not do [any other work] in the Sacred Tent because they were responsible to serve [as musicians] day and night.

34 These were heads of families of the Levites in their generations, chief men; they were living at Jerusalem.

Those are [the names of] the leaders of the clans descended from Levi. Their names were written in the records of the clans. They all lived in Jerusalem.

35 And in Gibeon was living the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife's name was Maacah;

[One of the descendants of Benjamin, ] Jeiel, lived in Gibeon [city]. He was the city leader. His wife’s name was Maacah.

36 And Abdon his oldest son, and Zur and Kish and Baal and Ner and Nadab

His oldest son was Abdon. His other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,

37 And Gedor and Ahio and Zechariah and Mikloth

Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth.

38 Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They were living with their brothers in Jerusalem opposite their brothers.

Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. Jeiel’s family lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.

39 And Ner was the father of Kish; and Kish was the father of Saul; and Saul was the father of Jonathan and Malchi-shua and Abinadab and Eshbaal.

Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of [King] Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal.

40 And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of Micah.

Jonathan’s son was Merib-Baal. Merib-Baal was the father of Micah.

41 And the sons of Micah: Pithon and Melech and Tahrea and Ahaz.

Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, [and Ahaz].

42 And Ahaz was the father of Jarah; and Jarah was the father of Alemeth and Azmaveth and Zimri; and Zimri was the father of Moza.

Ahaz was the father of Jadah (OR, Jarah). Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza.

43 And Moza was the father of Binea; and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.

Moza was the father of Binea. The son of Binea was Rephaiah. The son of Rephaiah was Eleasah. The son of Eleasah was Azel.

44 And Azel had five sons, whose names are: Azrikam, his oldest son, and Ishmael and Sheariah and Obadiah and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.

Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.