1 Chronicles 23

1 When David was old and near the end of his life, 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 He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.

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

3 The Levites who were thirty years old and older were counted. They numbered 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, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh's house, and six thousand were 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 Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise Yahweh with the instruments that I made to give praise,” David said.

4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

6 He divided them into groups that corresponded to Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

7 From the clans descended from Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.

The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 There were three of Ladan's sons: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, and Joel.

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

9 There were three of Shimei's sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the leaders of the clans of Ladan.

The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 There were four of Shimei's sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.

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

11 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.

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 There were four of Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

13 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.

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 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites.

As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

15 Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 Gershom's descendant was Shubael the oldest.

The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

17 Eliezer's descendant was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

18 Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

19 Hebron's descendants were Jeriah, the oldest, 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 Uzziel's sons were Micah the oldest, and Ishijah the second.

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

21 Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.

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

22 Eleazar died without having any sons. He had only daughters. The sons of Kish married them.

Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 Mushi's three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

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

24 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.

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, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He makes his home in Jerusalem forever.

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 The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all the equipment used in its service.”

So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

27 For by David's last words the Levites were counted, from twenty years old and upward.

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

28 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.

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 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.

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 They also stood every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. They also did this in the evening

They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening.

31 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.

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 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.

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.