1 Chronicles 23

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

And David being old and full of days, made Solomon his son king over Israel.

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

And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, and the priests and Levites.

3 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.

And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years, and upwards: and there were found of them thirty-eight thousand men.

4 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.

Of these twenty-four thousand were chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers and judges.

5 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.”

Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instruments, which he had made to sing with.

6 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.

And David distributed them into courses by the families of the sons of Levi, to wit, of Gerson, and of Caath, and of Merari.

7 From the descendants of Gershon there were Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semei.

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

The sons of Leedan: the chief Jahiel, and Zethan, and Joel, three.

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

The sons of Semei: Salomith, and Hosiel, and Aran, three: these were the heads of the families of Leedan.

10 There were four men who were other sons of Shimei:

And the sons of Semei were Leheth, and Ziza, and Jaus, and Baria: these were the sons of Semei, four.

11 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.

And Leheth was the first, Ziza the second: but Jaus and Baria had not many children, and therefore they were counted in one family, and in one house.

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

The sons of Caath were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Oziel, four.

13 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.

The sons of Amram, Aaron, and Moses. And Aaron was separated to minister in the holy of holies, he and his sons for ever, and to burn incense before the Lord, according to his ceremonies, and to bless his name for ever.

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

The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses were Gersom and Eliezer:

16 The oldest son of Gershom was Shubael.

The sons of Gersom: Subuel the first.

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

And the sons of Eliezer were: Rohobia the first: and Eliezer had no more sons. But the sons of Rohobia were multiplied exceedingly.

18 The oldest son of Izhar was Shelomith.

The sons of Isaar: Salomith the first.

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

The sons of Hebron: Jeriau the first, Amarias the second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam the fourth.

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

The sons of Oziel: Micha the first, Jesia the second.

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

The sons of Merari: Moholi, and Musi. The sons of Moholi: Eleazar and Cia.

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

And Eleazar died, and had no sons but daughters: and the sons of Cis their brethren took them.

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

The sons of Musi: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.

24 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.

These are the sons of Levi in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, and the number of every head that did the works of the ministry of the house of the Lord from twenty years old and upward.

25 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.

For David said: The Lord the God of Israel hath given rest to his people, and a habitation in Jerusalem for ever.

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

And it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the service thereof.

27 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.

So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered from twenty years old and upward.

28 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.

And they are to be under the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the porches, and in the chambers, and in the place of purification, and in the sanctuary, and in all the works of the ministry of the temple of the Lord.

29 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.

And the priests have the charge of the leaves of proposition, and of the sacrifice of fine flour, and of the unleavened cakes, and of the fryingpan, and of the roasting, and of every weight and measure.

30 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.

And the Levites are to stand in the morning to give thanks, and to sing praises to the Lord: and in like manner in the evening,

31 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.

As well in the oblation of the holocausts of the Lord, as in the sabbaths and in the new moons, and the rest of the solemnities, according to the number and ceremonies prescribed for every thing, continually before the Lord.

32 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.

And let them keep the observances of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ceremonies of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, that they may minister in the house of the Lord.