1 Chronicles 23

1 Now David was old and full of days; and he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

And David being old and full of days, made Solomon his son king over Israel.

2 And he got together all the chiefs of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, and the priests and Levites.

3 And the Levites, all those of thirty years old and over, were numbered; and the number of them, by heads, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.

And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years, and upwards: and there were found of them thirty-eight thousand men.

4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to be overseers of the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were judges and men of authority;

Of these twenty-four thousand were chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers and judges.

5 Four thousand were door-keepers; and four thousand gave praise to the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, for giving praise.

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

6 And David put them into divisions under the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

And David distributed them into courses by the families of the sons of Levi, to wit, of Gerson, and of Caath, and of Merari.

7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semei.

8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham and Joel, three.

The sons of Leedan: the chief Jahiel, and Zethan, and Joel, three.

9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three; these were the heads of the families of Ladan.

The sons of Semei: Salomith, and Hosiel, and Aran, three: these were the heads of the families of Leedan.

10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah and Jeush and Beriah; these four were the sons of Shimei.

And the sons of Semei were Leheth, and Ziza, and Jaus, and Baria: these were the sons of Semei, four.

11 Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah had only a small number of sons, so they were grouped together as one family.

And Leheth was the first, Ziza the second: but Jaus and Baria had not many children, and therefore they were counted in one family, and in one house.

12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

The sons of Caath were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Oziel, four.

13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was made separate and holy, he and his sons for ever, for the care of the most holy things and the burning of offerings before the Lord, to do his work and give blessings in his name for ever.

The sons of Amram, Aaron, and Moses. And Aaron was separated to minister in the holy of holies, he and his sons for ever, and to burn incense before the Lord, according to his ceremonies, and to bless his name for ever.

14 And the sons of Moses, the man of God, were put into the list of the tribe of Levi.

The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses were Gersom and Eliezer:

16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the first.

The sons of Gersom: Subuel the first.

17 And the sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the first; and Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had a great number.

And the sons of Eliezer were: Rohobia the first: and Eliezer had no more sons. But the sons of Rohobia were multiplied exceedingly.

18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the first.

The sons of Isaar: Salomith the first.

19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

The sons of Hebron: Jeriau the first, Amarias the second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam the fourth.

20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first, and Isshiah the second.

The sons of Oziel: Micha the first, Jesia the second.

21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

The sons of Merari: Moholi, and Musi. The sons of Moholi: Eleazar and Cia.

22 And at his death Eleazar had no sons, but only daughters, and their relations, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.

And Eleazar died, and had no sons but daughters: and the sons of Cis their brethren took them.

23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth, three.

The sons of Musi: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.

24 These were the sons of Levi, grouped by families, the heads of the families of those who were numbered by name, by heads, all those of twenty years old and over who did the work of the house of the Lord.

These are the sons of Levi in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, and the number of every head that did the works of the ministry of the house of the Lord from twenty years old and upward.

25 For David said, The Lord, the God of Israel, has given his people rest, and he has made his resting-place in Jerusalem for ever;

For David said: The Lord the God of Israel hath given rest to his people, and a habitation in Jerusalem for ever.

26 And from now, there will be no need for the House of the Lord, and the vessels used in it, to be moved about by the Levites.

And it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the service thereof.

27 So among the last acts of David was the numbering of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and over.

So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered from twenty years old and upward.

28 Their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron in all the work of the house of the Lord, in the open spaces and in the rooms, in the making clean of all the holy things, in doing all the work of the house of the Lord,

And they are to be under the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the porches, and in the chambers, and in the place of purification, and in the sanctuary, and in all the works of the ministry of the temple of the Lord.

29 The holy bread was in their care, and the crushed grain for the meal offering, of unleavened cakes or meal cooked over the fire or in water; they had control of all sorts of weights and measures;

And the priests have the charge of the leaves of proposition, and of the sacrifice of fine flour, and of the unleavened cakes, and of the fryingpan, and of the roasting, and of every weight and measure.

30 They had to take their places every morning to give praise and make melody to the Lord, and in the same way at evening;

And the Levites are to stand in the morning to give thanks, and to sing praises to the Lord: and in like manner in the evening,

31 At every offering of burned offerings to the Lord, on Sabbaths, and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts, in the number ordered by the law, at all times before the Lord;

As well in the oblation of the holocausts of the Lord, as in the sabbaths and in the new moons, and the rest of the solemnities, according to the number and ceremonies prescribed for every thing, continually before the Lord.

32 And they had the care of the Tent of meeting and the holy place, under the direction of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the work of the house of the Lord.

And let them keep the observances of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ceremonies of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, that they may minister in the house of the Lord.