1 Chronicles 23

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

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

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

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

3 And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward; and their number, by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.

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

4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to preside over the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers 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 were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, [said David, ] to praise [therewith].

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 courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei.

The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Laadan: the head was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.

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

9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief fathers of Laadan.

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

10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, and Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei.

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

11 And Jahath was the head, and Ziza the second; and Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: as father's house, therefore, they were reckoned as one.

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 Kohath: Amram, Jizhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

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

13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was separated, that he should be hallowed as most holy, he and his sons for ever, to offer before Jehovah, to do service to him, and to 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 to Moses the man of God, his sons were named of 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: Gershom and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the head.

The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

17 And the sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the head; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

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 Jizhar: Shelomith the head.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

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

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

20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the head, and Jishijah the second.

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

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

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

22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters; and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.

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

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

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

24 These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, the chief fathers, as they were reckoned, by number of names by their polls, who did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, 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, Jehovah the God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he will dwell 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 also have no more to carry the tabernacle, nor any of its vessels 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 this [done], — the numbering of the sons of Levi 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 their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purifying of all holy things, and [for] the work 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 loaves to be set in rows, and for the fine flour for the oblation, and for the unleavened cakes, and for [what is baked in] the pan, and for that which is saturated [with oil], and for all measure of capacity and size;

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 every morning to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at even;

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

31 and for all burnt-offerings offered up to Jehovah on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the ordinance concerning them, continually, before Jehovah;

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 kept the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of Jehovah.

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.