1 Chronicles 23
1 When David was old, having lived a long life, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.
When David was old and near the end of his life, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 He also summoned all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites.
He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.
3 The Levites over thirty years old were counted, and there was 38,000 in total.
The Levites who were thirty years old and older were counted. They numbered 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 oversee the work of Yahweh's house, and six thousand were officers and judges.
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 gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise Yahweh with the instruments that I made to give praise,” David said.
6 David divided them into sections corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
He divided them into groups that corresponded to Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 The sons of Gershon: Ladan and Shimei.
From the clans descended from Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel (chief), and Zetham, and Joel, three in total.
There were three of Ladan's sons: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, and Joel.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three in total. These were the leaders of the families of Ladan.
There were three of Shimei's sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the leaders of the clans of Ladan.
10 The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah—four in total.
There were four of Shimei's sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
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 oldest, and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered as one clan with the same duties.
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—a total of four.
There were four of Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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.
These were Amram's sons: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was chosen to set apart the most holy things, that he and his descendants would offer incense before Yahweh, to serve him and to give blessings in his name forever.
14 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.
But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites.
15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel (chief).
Gershom's descendant was Shubael the oldest.
17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah (chief). Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.
Eliezer's descendant was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith (chief).
Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah (chief), Amariah (second), Jahaziel (third), and Jekameam (fourth).
Hebron's descendants were Jeriah, the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah (chief) and Isshiah (second).
Uzziel's sons were Micah the oldest, and Ishijah the second.
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
Eleazar died without having any sons. He had only daughters. The sons of Kish married them.
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in total.
Mushi's three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
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 Levi's descendants corresponding to their clans. They were the leaders, counted and listed by name, of the clans that did the work in the service of Yahweh's house, from twenty years old and upward.
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, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He makes his home in Jerusalem forever.
26 So the Levites don't need to carry the Tent any longer, or anything needed for its service.”
The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all the equipment used in its service.”
27 In accordance with David's final instructions, Levites twenty years of age or more were counted.
For by David's last words the Levites were counted, from twenty years old and upward.
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 duty was to assist Aaron's descendants in the service of Yahweh's house. They were to care for the courtyards, the rooms, the ceremonial purification of all the things that belong to Yahweh, and other work in the service of God's house.
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.
They also took care of the bread of the presence, the fine flour for grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baked offerings, the offerings mixed with oil, and all the measuring of the amounts and sizes of things.
30 They also had to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and do the same in the evening,
They also stood every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. They also did this in the 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.
and whenever burnt offerings were offered to Yahweh, on the Sabbath and at the new moon festivals and feast days. A fixed number, assigned by decree, always had to be present before Yahweh.
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.
They were in charge of the tent of meeting, the holy place, and helped their fellow descendants of Aaron in the service of Yahweh's house.
