1 Chronicles 25

David and the commanders of the army also set apart certain men for special service. These were from the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. They were to prophesy while playing harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who did this work:

1Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

Note"Prophesy" here does not mean predicting the future. In Chronicles the word covers inspired public performance, singing and playing sacred song under God's prompting, which is why it is done "with" instruments. The instruments are the kinnor, a small hand-held lyre (KJV "harp"), the nebel, a larger stringed instrument (KJV "psaltery"), and bronze cymbals.

2From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. These sons of Asaph worked under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

2Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.

3From Jeduthun, these were his sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp as he gave thanks and praise to the LORD.

3Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD.

NoteFive names are listed but the total is given as six. The Hebrew text as it stands is short one name; some ancient copies and translations supply "Shimei," who does turn up in the list of duty-groups at verse 17. The gap is in the manuscripts, not in the rendering.

4From Heman, these were his sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.

4Of Heman: the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth:

NoteThe last nine of these names are unusual: read in order in Hebrew, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth form a short prayer, roughly "Be gracious to me, LORD, be gracious to me; you are my God; I have magnified and exalted help; sitting in trouble I spoke; grant abundant visions." Scholars disagree whether these were real personal names that happen to line up, or a line from a song that was later broken into names.

5All of these were the sons of Heman, the king's seer, who spoke God's words to him. God gave Heman these sons to raise him up and make him strong. In all, God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

5All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

NoteA "seer" is a prophet; the older English word reflects the Hebrew term for one who "sees" what God shows him. "To lift up the horn" is a Hebrew idiom: an animal's horn stood for strength and standing, so lifting it up means to raise someone's status or make him strong. The Hebrew here is ambiguous: it can mean God gave Heman these sons to exalt him, or that the sons' role was to lift up the horn in praise, or even to sound a horn.

6All of these men served under the direction of their father, providing the music in the house of the LORD with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps. This was the service of the house of God, and Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman worked by the king's orders.

6All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king’s order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.

NoteThe "house of the LORD" is the temple. In David's lifetime it had not yet been built; Chronicles describes David organizing in advance the staff for the building his son Solomon would erect, while worship continued at the tent that housed the ark.

7Counting them along with their relatives who were trained in the songs of the LORD, all of them skilled, the total came to 288.

7So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.

Note288 is 24 groups of 12, the arrangement set out in the rest of the chapter.

8They cast lots to decide their turns of duty, group by group. Young and old took part the same way, and so did teacher and student alike.

8And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

NoteCasting lots meant throwing marked stones or sticks and reading the result, a standard way of assigning duties without anyone being able to claim favoritism. The KJV's "ward against ward" means division matched against division: each group drew for its turn of duty in the same way as every other.

9The first lot fell to Joseph, from the family of Asaph. The second fell to Gedaliah, who, with his sons and his relatives, made twelve.

9Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve:

NoteThe twenty-four groups here match the twenty-four groups of priests listed in the previous chapter, so a singing group was on duty alongside each rotation of priests. The names in this list are the sons named in verses 2 to 4, though several appear in slightly different spellings (Izri for Zeri, Jesharelah for Asarelah, Shubael for Shebuel, Azareel for Uzziel).

10The third fell to Zaccur; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

10The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

11The fourth fell to Izri; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

11The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

12The fifth fell to Nethaniah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

12The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

13The sixth fell to Bukkiah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

13The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

14The seventh fell to Jesharelah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

14The seventh to Jesharelah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

15The eighth fell to Jeshaiah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

15The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

16The ninth fell to Mattaniah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

16The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

17The tenth fell to Shimei; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

17The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

18The eleventh fell to Azareel; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

18The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

19The twelfth fell to Hashabiah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

19The twelfth to Hashabiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

20The thirteenth fell to Shubael; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

20The thirteenth to Shubael, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

21The fourteenth fell to Mattithiah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

21The fourteenth to Mattithiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

22The fifteenth fell to Jeremoth; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

22The fifteenth to Jeremoth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

23The sixteenth fell to Hananiah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

23The sixteenth to Hananiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

24The seventeenth fell to Joshbekashah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

24The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

25The eighteenth fell to Hanani; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

25The eighteenth to Hanani, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

26The nineteenth fell to Mallothi; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

26The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

27The twentieth fell to Eliathah; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

27The twentieth to Eliathah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

28The twenty-first fell to Hothir; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

28The one and twentieth to Hothir, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

29The twenty-second fell to Giddalti; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

29The two and twentieth to Giddalti, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

30The twenty-third fell to Mahazioth; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

30The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:

31The twenty-fourth fell to Romamti-ezer; he, his sons, and his relatives made twelve.

31The four and twentieth to Romamtiezer, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve.