The priests, the Levites, and some of the people, as well as the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, lived in their towns and all Israel in their towns.
So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We went to the Aramean camp, but there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied, the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.”
For some time now, even while Saul was king, it was you who commanded the army of Israel. The Lord your God said to you, ‘It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over my people Israel.’ ”
Now these are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried captive to Babylon; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own towns.
So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns. When the seventh month came, the Israelites being settled in their towns,