1 Chronicles 23
1 When David was old and near the end of his life, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
And David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel in his stead.
2 He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.
And he assembled all the chief men of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites.
3 The Levites who were thirty years old and older were counted. They numbered thirty-eight thousand.
And the Levites numbered [themselves] from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls amounted to thirty and eight thousand men.
4 “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh's house, and six thousand were officers and judges.
Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord [there were] twenty-four thousand, and [there were] six thousand scribes 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.
and four thousand doorkeepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord.
6 He divided them into groups that corresponded to Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
And David divided them [into] daily courses, for the sons of Levi, for Gedson, Caath, and Merari.
7 From the clans descended from Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.
And for [the family of] Gedson, Edan, and Semei.
8 There were three of Ladan's sons: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, and Joel.
The sons of Edan [were] Jeiel, the chief, and Zethan, and Joel, three.
9 There were three of Shimei's sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the leaders of the clans of Ladan.
The sons of Semei; Salomith, Jeiel, and Dan, three: these [were] the chiefs of the families of Edan.
10 There were four of Shimei's sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
And to the sons of Semei, Jeth, and Ziza, and Joas, and Beria: these [were] the four sons of Semei.
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.
And Jeth was the chief, and Ziza the second: and Joas and Beria did not multiply sons, and they became [only] one reckoning according to the house of their father.
12 There were four of Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
The sons of Caath; Ambram, Isaar, Chebron, Oziel, four.
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 Ambram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was appointed for the consecration of the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister and bless in his name for ever.
14 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites.
And [as for] Moses the man of God, his sons were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.
15 Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
The sons of Moses; Gersam, and Eliezer.
16 Gershom's descendant was Shubael the oldest.
The sons of Gersam; Subael the chief.
17 Eliezer's descendant was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
And the sons of Eliezer were, Rabia the chief: and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rabia were very greatly multiplied.
18 Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.
The sons of Isaar; Salomoth the chief.
19 Hebron's descendants were Jeriah, the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
The sons of Chebron; Jeria the chief, Amaria the second, Jeziel the third, Jekemias the fourth.
20 Uzziel's sons were Micah the oldest, and Ishijah the second.
The sons of Oziel; Micha the chief, and Isia the second.
21 Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.
The sons of Merari; Mooli, and Musi: the sons of Mooli; Eleazar, and Kis.
22 Eleazar died without having any sons. He had only daughters. The sons of Kish married them.
And Eleazar died, and he had no sons, but daughters: and the sons of Kis, their brethren, took them.
23 Mushi's three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
The sons of Musi; Mooli, and Eder, and Jarimoth, three.
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 [are] the sons of Levi according to the houses of their fathers; chiefs of their families according to their numbering, according to the number of their names, according to their polls, doing the works of service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.
25 For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He makes his home in Jerusalem forever.
For David said, The Lord God of Israel has given rest to his people, and has taken up his abode in Jerusalem for ever.
26 The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all the equipment used in its service.”
And the Levites bore not the tabernacle, and all the vessels of it for its service.
27 For by David's last words the Levites were counted, from twenty years old and upward.
For by the last words of David was the number of the Levites [taken] from twenty years old and upward.
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.
For he appointed them to wait on Aaron, to minister in the house of the Lord, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purification of all the holy things, and over the works 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.
and for the show-bread, and for the fine flour of the meat-offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for the fried cake, and for the dough, and for every measure;
30 They also stood every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. They also did this in the evening
and to stand in the morning to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and so 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.
and [to be] over all the whole burnt offerings that were offered up to the Lord on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the feasts, by number, according to the order [given] to them, continually before the Lord.
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.
And they are to keep the charge of the tabernacle of witness, and the charge of the holy place, and the charges of the sons of Aaron their brethren, to minister in the house of the Lord.
