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Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

2 Chronicles 23:4

This is what we will do. When the priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of them will guard the Temple gates,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Porters;   Zeal, Religious;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Gates;   Kings;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Athaliah;   Joash or Jehoash;   Levites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Athaliah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jehoiada;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Priests and Levites;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jehoiada ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Joash;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Anoint;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Criticism (the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis);   Doorkeeper;   Jehoiada;   Priests and Levites;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Athaliah;   Threshold;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
This is what you are to do: a third of you, priests and Levites who are coming on duty on the Sabbath, are to be gatekeepers.
Hebrew Names Version
This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Shabbat, of the Kohanim and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds;
King James Version
This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;
English Standard Version
This is the thing that you shall do: of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the Sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers,
New Century Version
Now this is what you must do: You priests and Levites go on duty on the Sabbath. A third of you will guard the doors.
New English Translation
This is what you must do. One third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors.
Amplified Bible
"This is what you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites who are resuming service on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,
New American Standard Bible
"This is the thing which you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,
World English Bible
This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds;
Geneva Bible (1587)
This is it that ye shal do, The third part of you that come on the Sabbath of the Priests, and the Leuites, shalbe porters of the doores.
Legacy Standard Bible
This is the thing which you shall do: one-third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers at the thresholds,
Berean Standard Bible
This is what you are to do: A third of you priests and Levites who come on duty on the Sabbath shall keep watch at the doors,
Contemporary English Version
Here is what we will do. Three groups of priests and Levites will be on guard duty on the Sabbath—one group will guard the gates of the temple,
Complete Jewish Bible
Here is what you are to do: of you cohanim and L'vi'im who come on duty on Shabbat, a third are to guard the gates,
Darby Translation
This is the thing which ye shall do: a third part of you that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be keepers of the doors;
Easy-to-Read Version
Now, this is what you must do: One-third of you priests and Levites who go on duty on the Sabbath will guard the doors.
George Lamsa Translation
This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you who enter the temple on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites and of the porters shall be on guard;
Lexham English Bible
This is the thing that you must do: one third of you priests and Levites coming off duty on the Sabbath shall be gatekeepers at the entrances,
Literal Translation
This is what you shall do: the third of you going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, shall be keepers of the doors;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
This is it therfore yt ye shal do: The thirde parte of you that entre on the Sabbath, shalbe amonge the prestes & Leuites, which are dorekepers at the thresholdes:
American Standard Version
This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds;
Bible in Basic English
This is what you are to do: let a third of you, of the priests and Levites, who come in on the Sabbath, keep the doors;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
This is it therfore that ye shal do: The thirde part of you shall on the Sabbath come to the priestes, Leuites, & kepers of the porches,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;
King James Version (1611)
This is the thing that yee shall doe, A third part of you entring on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Leuites, shalbe porters of the doores.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Now this is the thing which ye shall do. Let a third part of you, even of the priests and of the Levites, enter in on the sabbath, even into the gates of the entrances;
English Revised Version
This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor this is the word, which ye schulen do.
Update Bible Version
This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds;
Webster's Bible Translation
This [is] the thing that ye shall do: A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, [shall be] porters of the doors;
New King James Version
This is what you shall do: One-third of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors;
New Living Translation
This is what you must do. When you priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, a third of you will serve as gatekeepers.
New Life Bible
This is what you must do. One third of you religious leaders and Levites who come in on the Day of Rest will watch the gates.
New Revised Standard
This is what you are to do: one-third of you, priests and Levites, who come on duty on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
This, is the thing that ye shall do, - A third of you entering on the sabbath, both of the priests and of the Levites, as doorkeepers of the porch;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And this is the thing that you shall do:
Revised Standard Version
This is the thing that you shall do: of you priests and Levites who come off duty on the sabbath, one third shall be gatekeepers,
Young's Literal Translation
`This [is] the thing that ye do: The third of you, going in on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, [are] for gatekeepers of the thresholds,
THE MESSAGE
In the seventh year the priest Jehoiada decided to make his move and worked out a strategy with certain influential officers in the army. He picked Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri as his associates. They dispersed throughout Judah and called in the Levites from all the towns in Judah along with the heads of families. They met in Jerusalem. The gathering met in The Temple of God. They made a covenant there in The Temple. The priest Jehoiada showed them the young prince and addressed them: "Here he is—the son of the king. He is going to rule just as God promised regarding the sons of David. Now this is what you must do: A third of you priests and Levites who come on duty on the Sabbath are to be posted as security guards at the gates; another third will guard the palace; and the other third will guard the foundation gate. All the people will gather in the courtyards of The Temple of God . No one may enter The Temple of God except the priests and designated Levites—they are permitted in because they've been consecrated, but all the people must do the work assigned them. The Levites are to form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going." All the Levites and officers obeyed the orders of Jehoiada the priest. Each took charge of his men, both those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest hadn't exempted any of them from duty. Then the priest armed the officers with spears and the large and small shields originally belonging to King David that were stored in The Temple of God. Well-armed, the guards took up their assigned positions for protecting the king, from one end of The Temple to the other, surrounding both Altar and Temple. Then the priest brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God's covenant, and made him king. As Jehoiada and his sons anointed him they shouted, "Long live the king!" Athaliah, hearing all the commotion, the people running around and praising the king, came to The Temple to see what was going on. Astonished, she saw the young king standing at the entrance flanked by the captains and heralds, with everybody beside themselves with joy, trumpets blaring, the choir and orchestra leading the praise. Athaliah ripped her robes in dismay and shouted, "Treason! Treason!" Jehoiada the priest ordered the military officers, "Drag her outside—and kill anyone who tries to follow her!" (The priest had said, "Don't kill her inside The Temple of God .") So they dragged her out to the palace's horse corral and there they killed her. Jehoiada now made a covenant between himself and the king and the people: they were to be God 's special people. The people poured into the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing altar and images to smithereens. They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada turned the care of God 's Temple over to the priests and Levites, the way David had directed originally. They were to offer the Whole-Burnt-Offerings of God as set out in The Revelation of Moses, and with praise and song as directed by David. He also assigned security guards at the gates of God 's Temple so that no one who was unprepared could enter. Then he got everyone together—officers, nobles, governors, and the people themselves—and escorted the king down from The Temple of God , through the Upper Gate, and placed him on the royal throne. Everybody celebrated the event. And the city was safe and undisturbed—Athaliah had been killed; no more Athaliah terror.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"This is the thing which you shall do: one third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,

Contextual Overview

1 After waiting six years Jehoiada the priest decided that it was time to take action. He made a pact with five army officers: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. 2 They traveled to all the cities of Judah and brought back with them to Jerusalem the Levites and all the heads of the clans. 3 They all gathered in the Temple, and there they made a covenant with Joash, the king's son. Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the son of the late king. He is now to be king, as the Lord promised that King David's descendants would be. 4 This is what we will do. When the priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of them will guard the Temple gates, 5 another third will guard the royal palace, and the rest will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. All the people will assemble in the Temple courtyard. 6 No one is to enter the Temple buildings except the priests and the Levites who are on duty. They may enter, because they are consecrated, but the rest of the people must obey the Lord 's instructions and stay outside. 7 The Levites are to stand guard around the king, with their swords drawn, and are to stay with the king wherever he goes. Anyone who tries to enter the Temple is to be killed." 8 The Levites and the people of Judah carried out Jehoiada's instructions. The men were not dismissed when they went off duty on the Sabbath, so the commanders had available both those coming on duty and those going off. 9 Jehoiada gave the officers the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and had been kept in the Temple. 10 He stationed the men with drawn swords all around the front of the Temple, to protect the king.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

entering: 1 Chronicles 23:3-6, 1 Chronicles 24:3-6, Luke 1:8, Luke 1:9

porters: 1 Chronicles 26:13-16

doors: Heb. thresholds

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 11:6 - the gate of Sur 1 Chronicles 9:19 - over the host 1 Chronicles 24:19 - the orderings 2 Chronicles 8:14 - the courses Ecclesiastes 10:10 - wisdom Acts 4:1 - the captain

Cross-References

Genesis 3:19
You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again."
Genesis 17:8
I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants forever, and I will be their God."
Genesis 23:12
But Abraham bowed before the Hittites
Genesis 23:13
and said to Ephron, so that everyone could hear, "May I ask you, please, to listen. I will buy the whole field. Accept my payment, and I will bury my wife there."
Genesis 23:16
Abraham agreed and weighed out the amount that Ephron had mentioned in the hearing of the people—four hundred pieces of silver, according to the standard weights used by the merchants.
Genesis 47:9
Jacob answered, "My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings."
Genesis 49:30
at Machpelah east of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this cave and field from Ephron for a burial ground.
Genesis 50:13
they carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre in the field which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground.
Leviticus 25:23
Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it; it belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it.
1 Chronicles 29:15
You know, O Lord , that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The writer of Chronicles relates the orders that were given to the Levites, the author of Kings those received by the royal body-guard (2 Kings 11:5 note).


 
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