Chronicles I 23

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

When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.

2 And he assembled all the chief men of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites.

Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

3 And the Levites numbered [themselves] from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls amounted to thirty and eight thousand men.

The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000.

4 Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord [there were] twenty-four thousand, and [there were] six thousand scribes and judges;

“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,

5 and four thousand doorkeepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord.

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

6 And David divided them [into] daily courses, for the sons of Levi, for Gedson, Caath, and Merari.

Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

7 And for [the family of] Gedson, Edan, and Semei.

The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Edan [were] Jeiel, the chief, and Zethan, and Joel, three.

The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.

9 The sons of Semei; Salomith, Jeiel, and Dan, three: these [were] the chiefs of the families of Edan.

The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 And to the sons of Semei, Jeth, and Ziza, and Joas, and Beria: these [were] the four sons of Semei.

And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.

11 And Jeth was the chief, and Ziza the second: and Joas and Beria did not multiply sons, and they became [only] one reckoning according to the house of their father.

Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment.

12 The sons of Caath; Ambram, Isaar, Chebron, Oziel, four.

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

13 The sons of Ambram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was appointed for the consecration of the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister and bless in his name for ever.

The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever.

14 And [as for] Moses the man of God, his sons were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.

As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses; Gersam, and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The sons of Gersam; Subael the chief.

The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rabia the chief: and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rabia were very greatly multiplied.

The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

18 The sons of Isaar; Salomoth the chief.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

19 The sons of Chebron; Jeria the chief, Amaria the second, Jeziel the third, Jekemias the fourth.

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

20 The sons of Oziel; Micha the chief, and Isia the second.

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

21 The sons of Merari; Mooli, and Musi: the sons of Mooli; Eleazar, and Kis.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

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

Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 The sons of Musi; Mooli, and Eder, and Jarimoth, three.

The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth —three in all.

24 These [are] the sons of Levi according to the houses of their fathers; chiefs of their families according to their numbering, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, doing the works of service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.

These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the LORD.

25 For David said, The Lord God of Israel has given rest to his people, and has taken up his abode in Jerusalem for ever.

For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever.

26 And the Levites bore not the tabernacle, and all the vessels of it for its service.

So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

27 For by the last words of David was the number of the Levites [taken] from twenty years old and upward.

For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted,

28 For he appointed them to wait on Aaron, to minister in the house of the Lord, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purification of all the holy things, and over the works of the service of the house of God;

but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God,

29 and for the show-bread, and for the fine flour of the meat-offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for the fried cake, and for the dough, and for every measure;

as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

30 and to stand in the morning to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and so in the evening;

They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening.

31 and [to be] over all the whole burnt offerings that were offered up to the Lord on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the feasts, by number, according to the order [given] to them, continually before the Lord.

Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them.

32 And they are to keep the charge of the tabernacle of witness, and the charge of the holy place, and the charges of the sons of Aaron their brethren, to minister in the house of the Lord.

So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the LORD.