1 Chronicles 23

1 When David was old, having lived a long life, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

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

2 He also summoned all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites.

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

3 The Levites over thirty years old were counted, and there was 38,000 in total.

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.

4 “Of these 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the house of the LORD, while 6,000 will be officers and judges,” David instructed.

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;

5 “And 4,000 will be gatekeepers, while 4,000 will praise the Lord using the musical instruments I have provided for praise worship.”

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

6 David divided them into sections corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

7 The sons of Gershon: Ladan and Shimei.

Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel (chief), and Zetham, and Joel, three in total.

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

9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three in total. These were the leaders of the families of Ladan.

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

10 The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah—four in total.

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

11 Jahath (chief), and Zizah (second); but because Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons they were counted as a single family.

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.

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

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

13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was dedicated to service with the most holy things, that he and his sons should always present offerings to the Lord, and minister before him, and give blessings in his name forever.

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.

14 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.

And the sons of Moses, the man of God, were put into the list of 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 (chief).

The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the first.

17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah (chief). Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.

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

18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith (chief).

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the first.

19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah (chief), Amariah (second), Jahaziel (third), and Jekameam (fourth).

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

20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah (chief) and Isshiah (second).

The sons of Uzziel: Micah 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 Eleazar died without having sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

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

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

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

24 These were the descendants of Levi by family, the heads of families chiefs listed individually by name—those twenty years of age or more who served in the house of the Lord.

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.

25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given peace to his people, and he will live in Jerusalem forever.

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;

26 So the Levites don't need to carry the Tent any longer, or anything needed for its service.”

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.

27 In accordance with David's final instructions, Levites twenty years of age or more were counted.

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

28 Their assignment was to help the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord They were responsible for the courtyards and rooms, for cleansing all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God.

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,

29 They were also responsible for the showbread that was placed on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and dealing with all amounts and measurements.

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;

30 They also had to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and do the same in the evening,

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

31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord whether on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days. They were to serve regularly before the Lord according to the number required for them.

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;

32 So the Levites were to carry out the responsibility of caring for the Tent of Meeting and the sanctuary, and with their brothers the descendants of Aaron, they served the house of the Lord.

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.