1 Chronicles 23
1 And David is old, and satisfied with days, and causeth his son Solomon to reign over Israel,
When David was old and near the end of his life, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 and gathereth all the heads of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites;
He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.
3 and the Levites are numbered from a son of thirty years and upward, and their number, by their polls, is of mighty men thirty and eight thousand.
The Levites who were thirty years old and older were counted. They numbered thirty-eight thousand.
4 Of these to preside over the work of the house of Jehovah [are] twenty and four thousand, and officers and judges six thousand,
“Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh's house, and six thousand were officers and judges.
5 and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand giving praise to Jehovah, 'with instruments that I made for praising,' [saith David.]
Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise Yahweh with the instruments that I made to give praise,” David said.
6 And David distributeth them into courses: Of the sons of Levi: of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
He divided them into groups that corresponded to Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonite: Laadan and Shimei.
From the clans descended from Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.
8 Sons of Laadan: the head [is] Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.
There were three of Ladan's sons: Jehiel the leader, Zetham, and Joel.
9 Sons of Shimei [are] Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three; these [are] heads of the fathers of Laadan.
There were three of Shimei's sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the leaders of the clans of Ladan.
10 And sons of Shimei [are] Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah; these [are] sons of Shimei, four.
There were four of Shimei's sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
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 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.
12 Sons of Kohath [are] Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
There were four of Kohath's sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13 Sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron is separated for his sanctifying the holy of holies, he and his sons — unto the age, to make perfume before Jehovah, to serve Him, and to bless in His name — unto the age.
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.
14 As to Moses, the man of God, his sons are called after the tribe of Levi.
But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites.
15 Sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Sons of Gershom: Shebuel the head.
Gershom's descendant was Shubael the oldest.
17 And sons of Eliezer are Rehabiah the head, and Eliezer had no other sons, and the sons of Rehabiah have multiplied exceedingly.
Eliezer's descendant was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
18 Sons of Izhar: Shelomith the head.
Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.
19 Sons of Hebron: Jeriah the head, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
Hebron's descendants were Jeriah, the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 Sons of Uzziel: Micah the head, and Ishshiah, the second.
Uzziel's sons were Micah the oldest, and Ishijah the second.
21 Sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar dieth, and he had no sons, but daughters, and sons of Kish their brethren take them.
Eleazar died without having any sons. He had only daughters. The sons of Kish married them.
23 Sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.
Mushi's three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
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 polls, doing the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from a son of twenty years and upward,
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.
25 for David said, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, hath given rest to His people, and He doth tabernacle in Jerusalem unto the age;'
For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He makes his home in Jerusalem forever.
26 and also of the Levites, 'None [are] to bear the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service;'
The Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all the equipment used in 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 by David's last words the Levites were counted, from twenty years old and upward.
28 for their station [is] at the side of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of Jehovah, 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,
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.
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 fried, and for all [liquid] measure and [solid] measure;
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.
30 and to stand, morning by morning, to give thanks, and to give praise to Jehovah, and so at evening;
They also stood every morning to thank and praise Yahweh. They also did this in the evening
31 and for all the burnt-offerings — burnt-offerings to Jehovah for sabbaths, for new moons, and for appointed seasons, by number, according to the ordinance upon them continually, before Jehovah.
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.
32 And they have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, for the service of the house of Jehovah.
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.
