1 Chronicles 23
1 And David was old and satisfied with days, and he causes his son Solomon to reign over Israel,
When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
2 and gathers all the heads of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites;
Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.
3 and the Levites are numbered from a son of thirty years and upward, and their number, for their counted heads, is of thirty-eight thousand mighty 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 [are] to preside over the work of the house of YHWH, and six thousand 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 gatekeepers, and four thousand giving praise to YHWH, “with instruments that I made for praising,” [says David.]
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 distributes them into divisions of the sons of Levi—of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonite: Laadan and Shimei.
The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 Sons of Laadan: the head [is] Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel—three.
The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.
9 Sons of Shimei: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran—three; these [are] heads of the 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 sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah; these [are] 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 is the head, and Zizah the second, and Jeush and Beriah have not multiplied sons, and they become the house of a father by one numbering.
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 Sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
13 Sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron is separated for his sanctifying the Holy of Holies, he and his sons, for all time, to make incense before YHWH, to serve Him, and to bless in His Name for all time.
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 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons are called after the tribe of Levi.
As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 Sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Sons of Gershom: Shebuel the head.
The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.
17 And sons of Eliezer are Rehabiah the head, and Eliezer had no other sons, and the sons of Rehabiah have 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 Sons of Izhar: Shelomith the head.
The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.
19 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 Sons of Uzziel: Micah the head, and Ishshiah the second.
The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second.
21 Sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar dies, and he had no sons, but daughters, and their brothers, sons of Kish, take them.
Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 Sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth—three.
The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth —three in all.
24 These [are] sons of Levi, by the house of their fathers, heads of the fathers, by their appointments, in the number of names, by their counted heads, doing the work for the service of the house of YHWH, from a son of twenty years 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, “YHWH, God of Israel, has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem for all time”;
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 also of the Levites, “None [are] to carry the Dwelling Place and all 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 they [took] the number of the sons of Levi from a son of twenty years and upward,
For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted,
28 for their station [is] at the side of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of YHWH, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the cleansing of every holy thing, and 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 bread of the arrangement, and for fine flour for present, and for the thin unleavened cakes, and for [the work of] the pan, and for that which is stirred, and for all [liquid] measure and [solid] 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 to stand, morning by morning, to give thanks, and to give praise to YHWH, and so at evening;
They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening.
31 and for all the burnt-offerings—burnt-offerings to YHWH for Sabbaths, for new moons, and for appointed times, by number, according to the ordinance on them continually, before YHWH.
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 have kept the charge of the Tent of Meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of their brothers, the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of YHWH.
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.
