1 Chronicles 23:5
New International Version
Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”

New Living Translation
Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made.”

English Standard Version
4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the LORD with the instruments that I have made for praise.”

Berean Standard Bible
4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

King James Bible
Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

New King James Version
four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

New American Standard Bible
and four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were praising the LORD with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

NASB 1995
and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising the LORD with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

NASB 1977
and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising the LORD with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

Legacy Standard Bible
and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising Yahweh with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

Amplified Bible
and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 [musicians] were to praise the LORD with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

Christian Standard Bible
four thousand are to be gatekeepers, and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the instruments that I have made for worship.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments that I have made for worship.”

American Standard Version
and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
That they would be watching the building and standing, and they were eager in their strength, and with their resources, and in their works, and in their accounts, and with their goods, and in charity that they would be distributing to the poor, and David appointed Stewards and Governors over the poor and over the afflicted, that they would be providing for and distributing to the poor, each over ten, and nothing was lacking to them.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and four thousand door-keepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord.

Contemporary English Version
4,000 will be guards at the temple, and 4,000 will praise the LORD by playing the musical instruments I have given them."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instruments, which he had made to sing with.

English Revised Version
and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
4,000 were appointed to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 were appointed to praise the LORD with the instruments David had made for praising God.

Good News Translation
four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the LORD, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.

International Standard Version
with 4,000 gatekeepers, and with 4,000 offering praises to the LORD with the musical instruments that I have had crafted."

JPS Tanakh 1917
and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised the LORD 'with the instruments which I made to praise therewith.'

Literal Standard Version
and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand giving praise to YHWH, “with instruments that I made for praising,” [says David.]

Majority Standard Bible
4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

New American Bible
four thousand were to be gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise the LORD with the instruments which [David] had devised for praise.

NET Bible
4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I supplied for worship."

New Revised Standard Version
four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand shall offer praises to the LORD with the instruments that I have made for praise.”

New Heart English Bible
four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, for giving praise."

Webster's Bible Translation
Moreover, four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise with them.

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

Young's Literal Translation
and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand giving praise to Jehovah, 'with instruments that I made for praising,' saith David.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Divisions of the Levites
4“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, 54,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.” 6Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.…

Cross References
2 Kings 7:10
So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, saying, "We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there--not a trace--only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact."

1 Chronicles 15:16
David also told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers to lift up their voices with joy, accompanied by musical instruments--harps, lyres, and cymbals.

1 Chronicles 25:7
Together with their relatives, who were all trained and skillful in the songs of the LORD, they numbered 288.

2 Chronicles 29:26
The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

Amos 6:5
You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.


Treasury of Scripture

Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

porters

1 Chronicles 9:17-27
And the porters were, Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren: Shallum was the chief; …

1 Chronicles 15:23,24
And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark…

1 Chronicles 16:38
And Obededom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obededom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:

praised

1 Chronicles 6:31-48
And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest…

1 Chronicles 9:33
And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night.

1 Chronicles 15:16-22
And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy…

the instruments

1 Kings 10:12
And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

2 Chronicles 29:25,26
And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets…

Amos 6:5
That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

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David Doorkeepers Door-Keepers Four Gatekeepers Instruments Moreover Musical Offer Porters Praise Praised Praises Praising Provided Purpose Therewith Thousand
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David Doorkeepers Door-Keepers Four Gatekeepers Instruments Moreover Musical Offer Porters Praise Praised Praises Praising Provided Purpose Therewith Thousand
1 Chronicles 23
1. David in his old age makes Solomon king
2. The number and distribution of the Levites
7. The families of the Gershonites
12. The sons of Kohath
21. The sons of Merari
24. The office of the Levites














(5) Moreover four thousand were porters.--Literally, and four thousand (are to be) warders. (Comp. 1Chronicles 9:21-27.) Reuss thinks 4,000 warders too many; but the different clans went on duty in turn.

And four thousand praised the Lord . . .--Rather, and four thousand (are to be) praising the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praising. (On "praising," see 1Chronicles 16:4.) We have here an interesting reference to the fact that David was not only a minstrel and inspired psalmist, but also an inventor of stringed instruments. So the prophet Amos (1Chronicles 6:5) speaks of the effeminate nobles of Israel, "who prattle on the mouth of the nebel, that invent themselves instruments of music, like David." The reference is repeated in Nehemiah 12:36.

Which I have made.--This expression proves that 1Chronicles 23:4-5 should be within inverted commas, as representing a spoken decree of David. Ewald thinks that the narrative is interrupted in 1Chronicles 23:5 by a fragmentary quotation from an ancient poet who speaks in the name of Jehovah, characterising the musicians as "those whom I have formed to sing my praise." (But see 2Chronicles 7:6.) . . .

Verse 5. - Porters (Hebrew שֹׁעְרִים); doorkeepers. The word is so translated in 1 Chronicles 15:23, 24. It was the duty of these to keep the entrances of the sanctuary, by day and night, in their courses (see also 2 Kings 7:10, 11). The Chaldaic equivalent of this word is תָּרָע (Ezra 7:24; Daniel 2:49). There is no connection between either the word or idea we have here, and those of Psalm 84:11, where the Hithp. conjugation of סָפפ is used, and the sense of residence probably intended to be conveyed. The instruments which I made... to praise. Possibly the quotation of a short sentence often on David's lips. Men given to music may have been very conscious of it, in ancient days, as well as in modern. The language, however, does not necessarily assert that David claimed the inventing or in any similar sense the making of these musical instruments, but that he appointed them for the service of praise. What some of them were may be seen in 2 Chronicles 5:12 - "cymbals, psalteries, harps, trumpets" (see also 2 Chronicles 29:25-27; Nehemiah 12:35, 36; Amos 6:5).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
4,000
וְאַרְבַּ֥עַת (wə·’ar·ba·‘aṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 702: Four

are to be gatekeepers,
שֹׁעֲרִ֑ים (šō·‘ă·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 7778: A gatekeeper

and 4,000
וְאַרְבַּ֤עַת (wə·’ar·ba·‘aṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 702: Four

are to praise
מְהַֽלְלִ֣ים (mə·hal·lîm)
Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1984: To shine

the LORD
לַיהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

with the instruments
בַּכֵּלִ֕ים (bak·kê·lîm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3627: Something prepared, any apparatus

I have made
עָשִׂ֖יתִי (‘ā·śî·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

for giving praise.”
לְהַלֵּֽל׃ (lə·hal·lêl)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1984: To shine


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OT History: 1 Chronicles 23:5 And four thousand were doorkeepers (1 Chron. 1Ch iCh i Ch 1 chr 1chr)
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