1 Chronicles 23

1 And David being old and full of days, 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, and the priests and Levites.

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

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

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 chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers 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 Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instruments, which he had made to sing with.

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

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

7 The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semei.

The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

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

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

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

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

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

11 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.

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 were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Oziel, 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 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.

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 The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in 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 were Gersom and Eliezer:

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The sons of Gersom: Subuel the first.

The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

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

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: Salomith the first.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

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

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

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

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 the sons of Cis 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: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.

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

24 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.

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 the God of Israel hath given rest to his people, and a habitation 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 it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the service thereof.

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

27 So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered 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 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.

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 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.

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 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,

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

31 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.

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 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.

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.