1 Chronicles 23
1 So when Dauid was olde and full of dayes, he made Salomon his sonne King ouer Israel.
When David was old, having lived a long life, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.
2 And hee gathered together all the princes of Israel with the Priestes and the Leuites.
He also summoned all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites.
3 And the Leuites were numbred from ye age of thirtie yeere and aboue, and their nomber according to their summe was eight and thirtie thousand men.
The Levites over thirty years old were counted, and there was 38,000 in total.
4 Of these foure and twentie thousande were set to aduance the worke of the house of the Lord, and sixe thousand were ouerseers and iudges.
“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.
5 And foure thousand were porters, and foure thousande praised the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord.
“And 4,000 will be gatekeepers, while 4,000 will praise the Lord using the musical instruments I have provided for praise worship.”
6 So Dauid deuided offices vnto them, to wit, to the sonnes of Leui, to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
David divided them into sections corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites were Laadan and Shimei.
The sons of Gershon: Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sonnes of Laadan, the chiefe was Iehiel, and Zetham and Ioel, three.
The sons of Ladan: Jehiel (chief), and Zetham, and Joel, three in total.
9 The Sonnes of Shimei, Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haram, three: these were the chiefe fathers of Laadan.
The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three in total. These were the leaders of the families of Ladan.
10 Also the sonnes of Shimei were Iahath, Zina, Ieush, and Beriah: these foure were ye sonnes of Shimei.
The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah—four in total.
11 And Iahath was the chiefe, and Zizah the seconde, but Ieush and Beriah had not many sonnes: therfore they were in the families of their father, counted but as one.
Jahath (chief), and Zizah (second); but because Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons they were counted as a single family.
12 The sonnes of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron aud Vzziel, foure.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—a total of four.
13 The sonnes of Amram, Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated to sanctifie the most holy place, hee and his sonnes for euer to burne incense before the Lord, to minister to him, and to blesse in his Name for euer.
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.
14 Moses also the man of God, and his children were named with the tribe of Leui.
As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.
15 The sonnes of Moses were Gershom, and Eliezer,
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Of the sonnes of Gershom was Shebuel the chiefe.
The sons of Gershom: Shebuel (chief).
17 And the sonne of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chiefe: for Eliezer had none other sonnes: but the sonnes of Rehabiah were very many.
The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah (chief). Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.
18 The sone of Izhar was Shelomith ye chiefe.
The sons of Izhar: Shelomith (chief).
19 The sonnes of Hebron were Ieriah the first, Amariah the second, Iahaziel the third, and Iekamiam the fourth.
The sons of Hebron: Jeriah (chief), Amariah (second), Jahaziel (third), and Jekameam (fourth).
20 The sones of Vzziel were Michah the first, and Isshiah the second.
The sons of Uzziel: Micah (chief) and Isshiah (second).
21 The sonnes of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sonnes of Mahli, Eleazar and Kish.
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar dyed, and had no sonnes, but daughters, and their brethren the sonnes of Kish tooke them.
Eleazar died without having sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 The sonnes of Mushi were Mahli, and Eder, and Ierimoth, three.
The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in total.
24 These were the sonnes of Leui according to the house of their fathers, euen the chiefe fathers according to their offices, according to the nomber of names and their summe that did the worke for the seruice of the house of the Lord from the age of twentie yeeres and aboue.
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.
25 For Dauid sayde, The Lord God of Israel hath giuen rest vnto his people, that they may dwell in Ierusalem for euer.
For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given peace to his people, and he will live in Jerusalem forever.
26 And also the Leuites shall no more beare the Tabernacle and al the vessels for the seruice thereof.
So the Levites don't need to carry the Tent any longer, or anything needed for its service.”
27 Therefore according to the last wordes of Dauid, the Leuites were nombred from twentie yeere and aboue,
In accordance with David's final instructions, Levites twenty years of age or more were counted.
28 And their office was vnder the hand of the sonnes of Aaron, for the seruice of the house of the Lord in the courtes, and chambers, and in the purifiyng of all holy thinges, and in the worke of the seruice of the house of God,
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.
29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine floure, for the meate offring, and for the vnleauened cakes, and for the fryed things, and for that which was rosted, and for all measures and cise,
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.
30 And for to stand euery morning, to giue thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise at euen,
They also had to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and do the same in the evening,
31 And to offer all burnt offrings vnto the Lord, in the Sabbaths, in the moneths, and at the appointed times, according to the nomber and according to their custome continually before the Lord,
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.
32 And that they should keepe the charge of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and the charge of ye holy place, and the charge of ye sonnes of Aaron their brethren in the seruice of ye house of the Lord.
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.
