1 Chronicles 23

1 and David be old and to satisfy day and to reign [obj] Solomon son: child his upon Israel

David was a very old man [DOU] when he appointed his son Solomon to be the next king.

2 and to gather [obj] all ruler Israel and [the] priest and [the] Levi

David gathered the leaders of Israel and the priests and other descendants of Levi.

3 and to recount [the] Levi from son: aged thirty year and above [to] and to be number their to/for head their to/for great man thirty and eight thousand

He [commanded some of his officials to] count the descendants of Levi who were at least thirty years old, and they found out that there were 38,000 of them.

4 from these to/for to conduct upon work house: temple LORD twenty and four thousand and official and to judge six thousand

Then David said, “From those 38,000 men, I want 24,000 of them to supervise the work at the temple of Yahweh, and I want 6,000 of them to be officials and judges.

5 and four thousand gatekeeper and four thousand to boast: praise to/for LORD in/on/with article/utensil which to make to/for to boast: praise

I want 4,000 to be guards at the gates, and 4,000 to praise Yahweh, using the musical instruments that I have provided for them.”

6 and to divide them David division to/for son: child Levi to/for Gershon Kohath and Merari

David divided the descendants of Levi into three family groups; each group consisted of men who were descendants of one of the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 to/for Gershonite Ladan and Shimei

From the descendants of Gershon there were Ladan and Shimei.

8 son: child Ladan [the] head: leader Jehiel and Zetham and Joel three

There were three sons of Ladan: Jehiel was the oldest, and his [younger] brothers Zetham and Joel.

9 son: child Shimei (Shelomoth *Q(K)*) and Haziel and Haran three these head: leader [the] father to/for Ladan

There were three of the sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. They were all leaders of the clans of Ladan.

10 and son: child Shimei Jahath Zizah and Jeush and Beriah these son: child Shimei four

There were four men who were other sons of Shimei:

11 and to be Jahath [the] head: leader and Zizah [the] second and Jeush and Beriah not to multiply son: child and to be to/for house: household father to/for punishment one

Jahath, who was his oldest son, and his [younger] brothers Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as though they were one family.

12 son: child Kohath Amram Izhar Hebron and Uzziel four

Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

13 son: descendant/people Amram Aaron and Moses and to separate Aaron to/for to consecrate: dedicate him holiness holiness he/she/it and son: descendant/people his till forever: enduring to/for to offer: offer to/for face: before LORD to/for to minister him and to/for to bless in/on/with name his till forever: enduring

There were two sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the very holy things, to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, to serve in his presence, and to declare [to the people] what Yahweh [MTY] would do to bless them. They were to do those things forever.

14 and Moses man [the] God son: child his to call: call by upon tribe [the] Levi

The sons of Moses, the man who served God [well], were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

15 son: child Moses Gershom and Eliezer

The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

16 son: descendant/people Gershom Shebuel [the] head: leader

The oldest son of Gershom was Shubael.

17 and to be son: descendant/people Eliezer Rehabiah [the] head: leader and not to be to/for Eliezer son: child another and son: child Rehabiah to multiply to/for above [to]

Rehabiah was the oldest son of Eliezer. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.

18 son: child Izhar Shelomith [the] head: leader

The oldest son of Izhar was Shelomith.

19 son: child Hebron Jeriah [the] head: leader Amariah [the] second Jahaziel [the] third and Jekameam [the] fourth

Hebron had four sons. Jeriah was his oldest son, and his [younger] brothers were Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.

20 son: child Uzziel Micah [the] head: leader and Isshiah [the] second

Uzziel had two sons. Micah was the oldest son, and his [younger] brother was Isshiah.

21 son: child Merari Mahli and Mushi son: child Mahli Eleazar and Kish

Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.

22 and to die Eleazar and not to be to/for him son: child that if: except if: except daughter and to lift: marry them son: child Kish brother: male-relative their

Eleazar had no sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 son: child Mushi Mahli and Eder and Jerimoth three

The three sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

24 these son: child Levi to/for house: household father their head: leader [the] father to/for to reckon: list their in/on/with number name to/for head their to make: do [the] work to/for service: ministry house: temple LORD from son: aged twenty year and above [to]

Those were the descendants of Levi, whose names were listed according to their families/clans. They were chosen for special jobs by (casting lots/throwing small marked stones). Each person who was at least 20 years old was listed. They all worked in the temple of Yahweh.

25 for to say David to rest LORD God Israel to/for people his and to dwell in/on/with Jerusalem till to/for forever: enduring

David had said previously, “Yahweh, the God to whom we Israeli people belong, has enabled us to have peace, and he [has come to] live in Jerusalem forever.

26 and also to/for Levi nothing to/for to lift: bear [obj] [the] tabernacle and [obj] all article/utensil his to/for service: ministry his

Therefore, the descendants of Levi no longer need to carry the Sacred Tent and the items used in the work there.”

27 for in/on/with word David [the] last they(masc.) number son: aged Levi from son: aged twenty year and to/for above [to]

Obeying the final instructions of David [before he died, instructions for doing this work at the temple], they counted only the descendants of Levi who were at least 20 years old.

28 for office their to/for hand: to son: descendant/people Aaron to/for service: ministry house: temple LORD upon [the] court and upon [the] chamber and upon purifying to/for all holiness and deed: work service: ministry house: temple [the] God

The work of those descendants of Levi was to assist the descendants of Aaron in their work in the temple of Yahweh: To be in charge of the temple courtyards and the side rooms, the ceremonies for purifying all the sacred things, and to do other work at the temple.

29 and to/for food: bread [the] row and to/for fine flour to/for offering and to/for flatbread [the] unleavened bread and to/for griddle and to/for to stir and to/for all capacity and measure

They were also in charge of the sacred loaves of bread that were placed [each week] on the table [in the temple], the flour for the grain offerings, the wafers that were made without yeast, and the measuring the ingredients and mixing them and baking that bread and those wafers.

30 and to/for to stand: stand in/on/with morning in/on/with morning to/for to give thanks and to/for to boast: praise to/for LORD and so to/for evening

They were also told to stand every morning [at the temple] and thank Yahweh and praise him. They were also required to do the same thing every evening.

31 and to/for all to ascend: offer up burnt offering to/for LORD to/for Sabbath to/for month: new moon and to/for meeting: festival in/on/with number like/as justice: rule upon them continually to/for face: before LORD

And they were to do the same thing whenever offerings that were to be completely burned [on the altar] were presented/offered to Yahweh on Sabbath days and during the new moon celebrations and other religious festivals. They were told how many of them should be there and what they should do each time.

32 and to keep: obey [obj] charge tent meeting and [obj] charge [the] holiness and charge son: descendant/people Aaron brother: male-relative their to/for service: ministry house: temple LORD

So the descendants of Levi did the work that was assigned to them by their fellow Israelis who were descendants of Aaron. They did that work in the area surrounding the Sacred Tent, and in the Sacred Tent, and [later] at the temple.