These were the ones who served the king, besides those whom the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

All the men of Judah ¹  were standing before the Lord, along with their infants, wives, and children.

“This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘Why are you so confident that you remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege? ¹ 

The priests left the holy place. ¹  All the priests who participated had consecrated themselves, no matter which division they represented. ² 

But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. ¹ 

the food in his banquet hall, ¹  his servants and attendants ²  in their robes, his cupbearers in their robes, and his burnt sacrifices which he presented in the Lord’s temple, ³  she was amazed. ⁴ 

But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not rejected him. Aaron’s descendants serve as the Lord’s priests and the Levites assist them with the work. ¹ 

Another third of you will be stationed at the royal palace and still another third at the Foundation Gate. All the others ¹  will stand in the courtyards of the Lord’s temple.

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. ¹  (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, “Certainly his loyal love endures.”) ²  Opposite the Levites, ³  the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

As his father David had decreed, Solomon ¹  appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks, ²  and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates. ³  This was what David the man of God had ordered. ⁴ 

The young advisers with whom Rehoboam ¹  had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden’ ²  – say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father! ³ 

The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. ¹  The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them.