1 Chronicles 27

1 And the sons of Israel, after their number, heads of the fathers, and princes of the thousands and of the hundreds, and their officers, those serving the king in any matter of the courses, that are coming in and going out month by month, throughout all months of the year — [are] in each course twenty and 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 course, for the first month, [is] Jashobeam son of Zabdiel, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand;

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

3 of the sons of Perez [is] the head of all princes of the hosts 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 course of the second month [is] Dodai the Ahohite, and his course, and Mikloth [is] the president, and on his course [are] twenty and 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 Head of the third host, for the third month, [is] Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the head priest, and on his course [are] twenty and 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 Benaiah [is] a mighty one of the thirty, and over the thirty, and [in] his course [is] 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, for the fourth month, [is] Asahel brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him, and on his course [are] twenty and 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, for the fifth month, [is] the prince Shamhuth the Izrahite, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand.

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

9 The sixth, for the sixth month, [is] Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand.

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

10 The seventh, for the seventh month, [is] Helez the Pelonite, of the sons of Ephraim, and on his course [are] twenty and 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, for the eighth month, [is] Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhite, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand.

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

12 The ninth, for the ninth month, [is] Abiezer the Antothite, of the Benjamite, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand.

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

13 The tenth, for the tenth month, [is] Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhite, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand.

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

14 Eleventh, for the eleventh month, [is] Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the sons of Ephraim, and on his course [are] twenty and four thousand.

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

15 The twelfth, for the twelfth month, [is] Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel, and on his course [are] twenty and 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: Of the Reubenite, a leader [is] Eliezer son of Zichri; of the Simeonite, Shephatiah son of Maachah;

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 the Levite, Hashabiah son of Kemuel; of the Aaronite, 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, of the brethren of David; of Issachar, Omri 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 son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jerimoth 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 sons of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Azaziah; of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, Joel 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 of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel son of Abner; of Dan, Azareel son of Jeroham:

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 these [are] heads 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 And David hath not taken up their number from a son of twenty years and under, for Jehovah said to multiply Israel as the stars of the heavens.

[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 Joab son of Zeruiah hath begun to number — and hath not finished — and there is for this wrath against Israel, and the number hath not gone up in the account of the Chronicles 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 over the treasures of the king [is] Azmaveth son of Adiel; and over the treasures in the field, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the towers, [is] Jehonathan son of Uzziah;

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 and over workmen of the field for the service of the ground [is] Ezri son of Chelub;

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

27 and over the vineyards [is] Shimei the Ramathite; and over what [is] in the vineyards for the treasures of wine [is] Zabdi the Shiphmite;

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 and over the olives, and the sycamores, that [are] in the low country, [is] Baal-Hanan the Gederite; and over the treasures of oil [is] Joash;

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

29 and over the herds that are feeding in Sharon [is] Shitrai the Sharonite; and over the herds in the valleys [is] Shaphat son of Adlai;

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 and over the camels [is] Obil the Ishmeelite; and over the asses [is] Jehdeiah the Meronothite;

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

31 and over the flock [is] Jaziz the Hagerite; all these [are] heads of the substance that king David hath.

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 And Jonathan, uncle of David, [is] counsellor, a man of understanding, he is also a scribe; and Jehiel son of Hachmoni [is] with the sons of the king;

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

33 and Ahithophel [is] counsellor to the king; and Hushai the Archite [is] the friend of the king;

Ahithophel was the king’s official counselor.

34 and after Ahithophel [is] Jehoiada son of Benaiah, and Abiathar; and the head of the host of the king [is] 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.