1 Chronicles 25

1 Moreover, David and the captains of the army set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, 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:

2 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.

3 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 the LORD with the harp.

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

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

6 All these were under the hands of their father for song in the LORD’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.

7 The number of them, with their brothers who were instructed in singing to the LORD, even all who were skillful, was two hundred eighty-eight.

8 They cast lots for their offices, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the student.

9 Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, he and his brothers and sons were twelve;

10 the third to Zaccur, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

11 the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

12 the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

13 the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

14 the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

15 the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

16 the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

17 the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

18 the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

19 the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

20 for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

21 for the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

22 for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

23 for the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

24 for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

25 for the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

26 for the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

27 for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

28 for the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

29 for the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

30 for the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers, twelve;

31 for the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brothers, twelve.

Around 1 Chronicles 25

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

1 Chronicles 25 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

The music of the temple gets its own chapter. David and the captains of the army set apart the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, men who prophesied with harps, stringed instruments and cymbals. Asaph's sons prophesied at the order of the king. Jeduthun's six sons gave thanks and praised the LORD with the harp. Heman was the king's seer, and God gave him fourteen sons and three daughters. All of them were under their fathers for song in the LORD's house. In all, two hundred eighty-eight were trained and skillful. Then they cast lots for their turns, twenty-four divisions of twelve, and the chapter says they did it all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the student. Nobody is ranked above the others. Each lot is named in turn.

Background

Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun are linked with several psalms; Asaph's name is on Psalms 50 and 73 to 83, and Heman is named in Psalm 88. Here the word prophesy is used of music, so song is treated as a way of speaking for God. The twenty-four divisions match those of the priests in chapter 24. Many scholars think Chronicles was written after the exile.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 1 November 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes