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Army Groups
1 This is the list of the Israelites who served the king in the army. Each group was on duty one month each year. There were rulers of families, captains, generals, and the court officers who served the king. Each army group had 24,000 men.
2 Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first group for the first month. There were 24,000 men in Jashobeam’s group. 3 Jashobeam, one of Perez’s descendants, was leader of all the army officers for the first month.
4 Dodai, from the Ahoahites, was in charge of the army group for the second month. Mikloth was a leader in that group. There were 24,000 men in Dodai’s group.
5 The third commander, for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the leading priest. There were 24,000 men in Benaiah’s group. 6 He was the same Benaiah who was a brave soldier from the Thirty Heroes. He led these men. His son Ammizabad was in charge of Banaiah’s group.
7 The fourth commander, for the fourth month, was Asahel the brother of Joab. Later, Asahel’s son Zebadiah took his place as commander. There were 24,000 men in Asahel’s group.
8 The fifth commander, for the fifth month, was Shamhuth from Zerah’s family. There were 24,000 men in Shamhuth’s group.
9 The sixth commander, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh from the town of Tekoa. There were 24,000 men in Ira’s group.
10 The seventh commander, for the seventh month, was Helez from the Pelonites and a descendant of Ephraim. There were 24,000 men in Helez’s group.
11 The eighth commander, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai from Hushah and from Zerah’s family. There were 24,000 men in Sibbecai’s group.
12 The ninth commander, for the ninth month, was Abiezer from the town of Anathoth and the tribe of Benjamin. There were 24,000 men in Abiezer’s group.
13 The tenth commander, for the tenth month, was Maharai from Netophah and from Zerah’s family. There were 24,000 men in Maharai’s group.
14 The eleventh commander, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah from Pirathon and the tribe of Ephraim. There were 24,000 men in Benaiah’s group.
15 The twelfth commander, for the twelfth month, was Heldai from Netophah and from Othniel’s family. There were 24,000 men in Heldai’s group.
Leaders of the Tribes of Israel
16 These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel:
Eliezer son of Zicri, leader of the tribe of Reuben;
Shephatiah son of Maacah, leader of the tribe of Simeon;
17 Hashabiah son of Kemuel, leader of the tribe of Levi;
Zadok, leader of the people of Aaron;
18 Elihu, one of David’s brothers, leader of the tribe of Judah;
Omri son of Michael, leader of the tribe of Issachar;
19 Ishmaiah son of Obadiah, leader of the tribe of Zebulun;
Jeremoth son of Azriel, leader of the tribe of Naphtali;
20 Hoshea son of Azaziah, leader of the tribe of Ephraim;
Joel son of Pedaiah, leader of West Manasseh;
21 Iddo son of Zechariah, leader of East Manasseh;
Jaasiel son of Abner, leader of the tribe of Benjamin;
22 Azarel son of Jeroham, leader of the tribe of Dan.
These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
David Counts the Israelites
23 David decided to count the men in Israel. There were very many people because the LORD had promised to make the Israelites as many as the stars in the sky. So David counted only the men who were 20 years old and older. 24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the people, but he did not finish.* Joab … did not finish God stopped him. See 1 Chron. 21:1-30. God became angry with the Israelites. That is why the number of the people was not put in the book, The History of King David.
The King’s Administrators
25 This is the list of men who were responsible for the king’s property:
Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king’s storerooms.
Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storerooms in the small towns, villages, fields, and towers.
26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers.
27 Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the vineyards.
Zabdi from Shepham was in charge of the storage and care of the wine that came from the vineyards.
28 Baal Hanan from Geder was in charge of the olive trees and sycamore trees in the western hill country.
Joash was in charge of storing the olive oil.
29 Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle around Sharon.
Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the cattle in the valleys.
30 Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.
Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.
31 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the sheep.
All these men were the leaders who took care of King David’s property.
32 Jonathan was a wise counselor and a scribe. He was David’s uncle. Jehiel son of Hacmoni took care of the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai was the king’s friend. Hushai was from the Arkites. 34 Jehoiada and Abiathar later took Ahithophel’s place as the king’s counselor. Jehoiada was Benaiah’s son. Joab was the commander of the king’s army.