1 Chronicles 23

1 Now, David, was old, and satisfied with days, —so he 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 gathered together all the rulers of Israel, with the priests, and the Levites.

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

3 Now the Levites were numbered, from thirty years old and upwards, —and their number by their polls, of mature men, was thirty-eight thousand.

The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000.

4 Of these—to preside over the work of the house of Yahweh, were twenty-four thousand, —and officers and judges, six thousand;

“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, were doorkeepers, —and, four thousand, were offerers of praise unto Yahweh, with instruments, which [said David] I made for offering praise.

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 divided them into courses, —pertaining to the sons of Levi, to Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

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

7 Of the Gershonites, Ladan and Shimei.

The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

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

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

9 The sons of Shimei, Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three, —these, were the ancestral chiefs of Ladan.

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 Shimei, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah, —these, were the sons of Shimei, four.

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

11 And Jahath was chief, and Zizah the second, —but, Jeush and Beriah, had not many sons, so they became an ancestral house, by one reckoning.

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 Kohath, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, 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 hallow the holy of holies, he and his sons, unto times age-abiding, to make a perfume before Yahweh, to be in attendance upon him, and to bless in his name, unto times age-abiding;

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 and, as for Moses, the man of God, his sons, were called unto 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 Gershom, and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 the sons of Gershom, were Shebuel the chief;

The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

17 and the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief, —and Eliezer had no other sons, but, the sons of Rehabiah, were very many.

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 Izhar, Shelomith the chief.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

19 The sons of Hebron, Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jehaziel 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 The sons of Uzziel, Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

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

21 The sons of Merari, were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli, were Eleazar and Kish.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

22 But Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only, —and so the sons of Kish 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 Mushi, were Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth, three.

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

24 These, were the sons of Levi by their ancestral house, the ancestral chiefs of them who were counted in the number of their names, by their polls, doing the work, for the service of the house of Yahweh, —from twenty years old, and upwards.

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, said David, Yahweh the God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, —and hath taken up his habitation in Jerusalem, unto times age-abiding;

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 moreover also, as for the Levites, they have no need to bear the habitation, nor any of its vessels in the laborious work thereof.

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, the same, were the number of the sons of Levi, —from twenty years old, and upwards.

For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted,

28 For, their duty, was—to be in attendance upon the sons of Aaron, in the laborious work of the house of Yahweh, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purifying of everything holy, —and doing the laborious work, 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 set in array, and for the fine meal for the meal-offering, and for the unleavened cakes, even for that which is baked in a pan, for the moistened food, —even of every measure, and size;

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 offer praise unto Yahweh, —and, likewise, at even;

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 offering of ascending-sacrifices unto Yahweh, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, —by number, according to the manner prescribed for them continually, before Yahweh; —

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 shall keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, —in the laborious work of the house of Yahweh.

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.