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Duties of the Musicians

25 David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. Here is a list of their names and their work:

From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s orders.

From the sons of Jeduthun, there were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[a] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God’s messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the Lord.

From the sons of Heman, there were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael,[b] Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters.

All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them—288 in all—was an accomplished musician. The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student.

The first lot fell to Joseph of the Asaph clan and twelve of his sons and relatives.[c]
The second lot fell to Gedaliah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
10 The third lot fell to Zaccur and twelve of his sons and relatives.
11 The fourth lot fell to Zeri[d] and twelve of his sons and relatives.
12 The fifth lot fell to Nethaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
13 The sixth lot fell to Bukkiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
14 The seventh lot fell to Asarelah[e] and twelve of his sons and relatives.
15 The eighth lot fell to Jeshaiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
16 The ninth lot fell to Mattaniah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
17 The tenth lot fell to Shimei and twelve of his sons and relatives.
18 The eleventh lot fell to Uzziel[f] and twelve of his sons and relatives.
19 The twelfth lot fell to Hashabiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
20 The thirteenth lot fell to Shubael and twelve of his sons and relatives.
21 The fourteenth lot fell to Mattithiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
22 The fifteenth lot fell to Jerimoth[g] and twelve of his sons and relatives.
23 The sixteenth lot fell to Hananiah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
24 The seventeenth lot fell to Joshbekashah[h] and twelve of his sons and relatives.
25 The eighteenth lot fell to Hanani and twelve of his sons and relatives.
26 The nineteenth lot fell to Mallothi and twelve of his sons and relatives.
27 The twentieth lot fell to Eliathah and twelve of his sons and relatives.
28 The twenty-first lot fell to Hothir and twelve of his sons and relatives.
29 The twenty-second lot fell to Giddalti and twelve of his sons and relatives.
30 The twenty-third lot fell to Mahazioth and twelve of his sons and relatives.
31 The twenty-fourth lot fell to Romamti-ezer and twelve of his sons and relatives.

Footnotes

  1. 25:3 As in one Hebrew manuscript and some Greek manuscripts (see also 25:17); most Hebrew manuscripts lack Shimei.
  2. 25:4 Hebrew Shebuel, a variant spelling of Shubael; compare 25:20.
  3. 25:9 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks and twelve of his sons and relatives.
  4. 25:11 Hebrew Izri, a variant spelling of Zeri; compare 25:3.
  5. 25:14 Hebrew Jesarelah, a variant spelling of Asarelah; compare 25:2.
  6. 25:18 Hebrew Azarel, a variant spelling of Uzziel; compare 25:4.
  7. 25:22 Hebrew Jeremoth, a variant spelling of Jerimoth; compare 25:4.
  8. 25:24 Hebrew Joshbekasha, a variant spelling of Joshbekashah; compare 25:4.

The Musicians

25 David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,(A) Heman(B) and Jeduthun(C) for the ministry of prophesying,(D) accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.(E) Here is the list of the men(F) who performed this service:(G)

From the sons of Asaph:

Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king’s supervision.

As for Jeduthun, from his sons:(H)

Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[a] Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp(I) in thanking and praising the Lord.

As for Heman, from his sons:

Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer; Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. (All these were sons of Heman the king’s seer. They were given him through the promises of God to exalt him. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.)

All these men were under the supervision of their father(J) for the music of the temple of the Lord, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God.

Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman(K) were under the supervision of the king.(L) Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord—they numbered 288. Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots(M) for their duties.

The first lot, which was for Asaph,(N) fell to Joseph,
his sons and relatives[b]12[c]
the second to Gedaliah,
him and his relatives and sons12
10 the third to Zakkur,
his sons and relatives12
11 the fourth to Izri,[d]
his sons and relatives12
12 the fifth to Nethaniah,
his sons and relatives12
13 the sixth to Bukkiah,
his sons and relatives12
14 the seventh to Jesarelah,[e]
his sons and relatives12
15 the eighth to Jeshaiah,
his sons and relatives12
16 the ninth to Mattaniah,
his sons and relatives12
17 the tenth to Shimei,
his sons and relatives12
18 the eleventh to Azarel,[f]
his sons and relatives12
19 the twelfth to Hashabiah,
his sons and relatives12
20 the thirteenth to Shubael,
his sons and relatives12
21 the fourteenth to Mattithiah,
his sons and relatives12
22 the fifteenth to Jerimoth,
his sons and relatives12
23 the sixteenth to Hananiah,
his sons and relatives12
24 the seventeenth to Joshbekashah,
his sons and relatives12
25 the eighteenth to Hanani,
his sons and relatives12
26 the nineteenth to Mallothi,
his sons and relatives12
27 the twentieth to Eliathah,
his sons and relatives12
28 the twenty-first to Hothir,
his sons and relatives12
29 the twenty-second to Giddalti,
his sons and relatives12
30 the twenty-third to Mahazioth,
his sons and relatives12
31 the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer,
his sons and relatives12.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 25:3 One Hebrew manuscript and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also verse 17); most Hebrew manuscripts do not have Shimei.
  2. 1 Chronicles 25:9 See Septuagint; Hebrew does not have his sons and relatives.
  3. 1 Chronicles 25:9 See the total in verse 7; Hebrew does not have twelve.
  4. 1 Chronicles 25:11 A variant of Zeri
  5. 1 Chronicles 25:14 A variant of Asarelah
  6. 1 Chronicles 25:18 A variant of Uzziel