2 Chronicles 35:15

Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,

He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate, for David the man of God had so commanded.

The Levites stood with David’s instruments, and the priests with the trumpets.

Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of God’s house which is in Jerusalem. Since that time even until now it has been being built, and yet it is not completed.

I cry to Yahweh with my voice, and he answers me out of his holy hill.

“Listen to me, my people; and hear me, my nation, for a law will go out from me, and I will establish my justice for a light to the peoples.

Turn your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your soul will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

When David rose up in the morning, Yahweh’s word came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

He burned Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, he burned with fire.

So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;

So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their divisions, according to the king’s commandment.

They burned God’s house, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all of its valuable vessels.

The sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites;

“Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “ ‘Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’

The adversary has spread out his hand on all her pleasant things; for she has seen that the nations have entered into her sanctuary, concerning whom you commanded that they should not enter into your assembly.

Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.

Now, please consider from this day and backward, before a stone was laid on a stone in Yahweh’s temple.

He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid, and said, “Surely this thing is known.”

You will bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the place, Yahweh, which you have made for yourself to dwell in; the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have established.

“Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God. I am Yahweh your God.”

This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

The prophet Gad said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Depart, and go into the land of Judah.” Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.

Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers with instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up their voices with joy.

Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with stringed instruments and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;

David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them one hundred twenty priests sounding with trumpets);

and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

They stood in their place after their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood which they received of the hand of the Levites.

The men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to give direction; and others of the Levites, who were all skillful with musical instruments.

Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed. He gave them all into his hand.

The singers: the children of Asaph, one hundred twenty-eight.

The singers: the children of Asaph: one hundred forty-eight.

and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the chief to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.

and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them.

I said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.”

The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.

God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

The houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the army of the sky and have poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”

He burned Yahweh’s house, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, he burned with fire.

who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

Indeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are Yahweh’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.”

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

and Ira the Jairite was chief minister to David.

The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites.

They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon had built Yahweh’s house in Jerusalem. They performed the duties of their office according to their order.

His brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea,

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 lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

These are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the rooms and were free from other service; for they were employed in their work day and night.

Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valor for the war: seven thousand one hundred.

Then on that day David first ordained to give thanks to Yahweh, by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.

four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”

Moreover, David and the captains of the army set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with harps, with stringed instruments, and with cymbals. The number of those who did the work according to their service was:

of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah. The sons of Asaph were under the hand of Asaph, who prophesied at the order of the king.

Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising Yahweh with the harp.

All these were under the hands of their father for song in Yahweh’s house, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of God’s house: Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman being under the order of the king.

For the divisions of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.

Then Yahweh’s Spirit came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly;

He set the Levites in Yahweh’s house with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was from Yahweh by his prophets.

Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of Yahweh’s camp.

When the builders laid the foundation of Yahweh’s temple, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Yahweh, according to the directions of David king of Israel.

They set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

The men of Bethlehem and Netophah: one hundred eighty-eight.

Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani of the Levites stood up on the stairs, and cried with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.

To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit.

My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him.

My cry goes to God! Indeed, I cry to God for help, and for him to listen to me.

Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.

God, the nations have come into your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.

Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!

God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God.

Those who sing as well as those who dance say, “All my springs are in you.”

Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp!

My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings.

and speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build Yahweh’s temple;