Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, April 5th, 2026
Easter Sunday
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

1 Chronicles 9:2

The first Israelites to return from exile to their homes and cities were the priests, the Levites, and the temple support staff.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Nethinims;   Thompson Chain Reference - Nethinim;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Gibeonites;   Nethinim;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Levites;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Chronicles, the Books of;   Ibneiah;   Jeuel;   Levites;   Mikloth;   Nethinim;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Nethinim;   Priests and Levites;   Shelah;   Writing;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Nethinim ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Nethinims;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Nethinim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Je'uel,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Gibeon;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Nethinim;   Solomon's Servants;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The first to live in their towns on their own property again were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
Hebrew Names Version
Now the first inhabitants who lived in their possessions in their cities were Yisra'el, the Kohanim, the Levites, and the temple servants.
King James Version
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims.
English Standard Version
Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
New Century Version
The first people to come back and live in their own lands and towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and Temple servants.
New English Translation
The first to resettle on their property and in their cities were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
Amplified Bible
Now the first [of the returned exiles] who lived [again] in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim (temple servants).
New American Standard Bible
Now the first inhabitants who lived on their own property in their cities were people of Israel, including the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
World English Bible
Now the first inhabitants who lived in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the chiefe inhabitants that dwelt in their owne possessions, and in their owne cities, euen Israel the Priestes, the Leuites, and the Nethinims.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now the first who lived in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
Berean Standard Bible
Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
Contemporary English Version
And the first people to return to their towns included priests, Levites, temple workers, and other Israelites.
Complete Jewish Bible
The first people to return to their possessions in the cities were the Isra'elim, the cohanim, the L'vi'im and the temple servants.
Darby Translation
And the inhabitants that were first in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
Easy-to-Read Version
The first people to come back and live in their own lands and towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and servants who work in the Temple.
George Lamsa Translation
Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the proselytes.
Good News Translation
The first to return to their property in the cities included Israelite citizens, priests, Levites, and Temple workers.
Lexham English Bible
Now the first inhabitants who were settled on their property in their cities in Israel were the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
Literal Translation
And the first dwellers who lived in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the temple slaves.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
euen they yt afore dwelt in their possessions and cities, namely Israel, ye prestes, Leuites and Nethinim.
American Standard Version
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
Bible in Basic English
Now the first to take up their heritage in their towns were: Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Euen the olde inhabiters that dwelt in their owne possessions and cities, the Israelites, the priestes, Leuites, and Nathenei.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
King James Version (1611)
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions, in their cities, were the Israelites, the Priests, Leuits, and the Nethinims.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they that dwelt before in their possessions in the cities of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the appointed ones.
English Revised Version
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli thei that dwelliden first in her citees, and in the possessiouns of Israel, and the preestis, and the dekenes, and Natyneys, dwelliden in Jerusalem.
Update Bible Version
Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and those given [to temple service].
Webster's Bible Translation
Now the first inhabitants that [dwelt] in their possessions in their cities [were], the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims.
New King James Version
And the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and the Nethinim.
New Living Translation
The first of the exiles to return to their property in their former towns were priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites.
New Life Bible
The first ones to live again in their land and in their cities were Israel, the religious leaders, the Levites and the servants of the Lord's house.
New Revised Standard
Now the first to live again in their possessions in their towns were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, the first inhabitants, who were in their possessions, in their cities, were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now the first that dwelt in their possessions, and in their cities, were the Israelites, and the priests, and the Levites, and the Nathineans.
Revised Standard Version
Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
Young's Literal Translation
And the first inhabitants, who [are] in their possession, in their cities, of Israel, [are] the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now the first who lived in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites and the temple servants.

Contextual Overview

1 This is the complete family tree for all Israel, recorded in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah at the time they were exiled to Babylon because of their unbelieving and disobedient lives. 2 The first Israelites to return from exile to their homes and cities were the priests, the Levites, and the temple support staff. 3Returning to Jerusalem from the families of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh were the following: Uthai son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, from the line of Perez son of Judah; from the Shilonites were Asaiah the firstborn and his sons; from the family of Zerah there was Jeuel. There were 690 in the Judah group. 7From the family of Benjamin were Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah, and Ibneiah son of Jeroham, and Elah son of Uzzi, the son of Micri, and Meshullam son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah. There were 956 in the Benjamin group. All these named were heads of families. 10From the company of priests there were Jedaiah; Jehoiarib; Jakin; Azariah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, who was in charge of taking care of the house of God; Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah; also Maasai son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer. The priests, all of them heads of families, numbered 1,760, skilled and seasoned servants in the work of worshiping God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

am 3468, bc 536

the first: Ezra 2:70, Nehemiah 7:73, Nehemiah 11:3

the Nethinims: Joshua 9:21-27, Ezra 2:43, Ezra 2:58, Ezra 8:20, Nehemiah 7:60, Nehemiah 7:73, Nehemiah 11:3, Nehemiah 11:21

Reciprocal: Joshua 9:27 - made them 1 Chronicles 9:18 - Who hitherto waited Ezra 6:16 - the children Nehemiah 3:26 - Nethinims Nehemiah 7:46 - Nethinims

Cross-References

Genesis 9:8
Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: "I'm setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds, farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I'm setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth."
Genesis 9:20
Noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent. Shem and Japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backward and covered their father's nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father's exposed body.
Leviticus 26:6
"I'll make the country a place of peace—you'll be able to go to sleep at night without fear; I'll get rid of the wild beasts; I'll eliminate war. You'll chase out your enemies and defeat them: Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and do away with them. I'll give you my full attention: I'll make sure you prosper, make sure you grow in numbers, and keep my covenant with you in good working order. You'll still be eating from last year's harvest when you have to clean out the barns to make room for the new crops.
Ezekiel 34:25
"‘I'll make a covenant of peace with them. I'll banish fierce animals from the country so the sheep can live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. I'll make them and everything around my hill a blessing. I'll send down plenty of rain in season—showers of blessing! The trees in the orchards will bear fruit, the ground will produce, they'll feel content and safe on their land, and they'll realize that I am God when I break them out of their slavery and rescue them from their slave masters.
James 3:7
This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you? Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats. Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities,.... Who first returned from Babylon upon the proclamation of Cyrus, and enjoyed their former possessions, and dwelt in the cities they had before, or in such as were allotted them, or they chose:

[were], the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims; the whole body that returned were divided into four classes, as they had been before the captivity; the Israelites were the common people in general, the body politic; the priests, the ecclesiastics, who officiated in sacred things; the Levites, who ministered to them; and the Nethinims were such persons as were "given", as the word signifies, to do servile work for the sanctuary, as, to be hewers of wood and drawers of water; such were the Gibeonites, Joshua 9:27, and such as were appointed by David for such work, see Ezra 8:20.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The first inhabitants - i. e. the first inhabitants of the holy land after the return from the captivity. They are enumerated under four heads:

(1) Israelites, i. e. the mass of the laity, whether belonging to the ten tribes or the two;

(2) priests;

(3) Levites; and

(4) the lowest order of the ministry, the Nethinims.

These last, whose name is derived from a root “to give,” were a sort of sacred slaves - persons “given” to the Levites to perform the more laborious duties of the sanctuary. Some had been “given” as early as the time of Moses Numbers 31:47; and the number afterward increased Joshua 9:23; Ezra 8:20. At the time of the return from the captivity, owing to the small number of Levites who came back Ezra 2:40-42, the services of the Nethinims became very important. They are mentioned under the name of Nethinims only in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Chronicles 9:2. Now the first inhabitants — This is spoken of those who returned from the Babylonish captivity, and of the time in which they returned; for it is insinuated here that other persons afterwards settled at Jerusalem, though these mentioned here were the first on the return from the captivity. Properly speaking, the divisions mentioned in this verse constituted the whole of the Israelitish people, who were, ever since the days of Joshua, divided into the four following classes:

1. The priests.

2. The Levites.

3. The common people, or simple Israelites.

4. The Nethinim, or slaves of the temple, the remains of the Gibeonites, who, having deceived Joshua, were condemned to this service Joshua 9:21, &c. In David's time it is probable that other conquered people were added, as the successors of the Gibeonites were not sufficient to perform all the drudgery of the temple service.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile