1 Chronicles 23

1 When David was old and near the end of his life, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

Now David was old and full of days; and he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2 He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.

And he got together all the chiefs of Israel, with 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, all those of thirty years old and over, were numbered; and the number of them, by heads, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.

4 “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh's house, and six thousand were officers and judges.

Of these, twenty-four thousand were to be overseers of the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were judges and men of authority;

5 Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise Yahweh with the instruments that I made to give praise,” David said.

Four thousand were door-keepers; and four thousand gave praise to the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, for giving praise.

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

And David put them into divisions under the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

Of 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 chief, and Zetham 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 Shimei: Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three; 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, Zizah and Jeush and Beriah; these four were the sons of Shimei.

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 chief and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah had only a small number of sons, so they were grouped together as one family.

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

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, 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 Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was made separate and holy, he and his sons for ever, for the care of the most holy things and the burning of offerings before the Lord, to do his work and give blessings in his name for ever.

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

And the sons of Moses, the man of God, were put into the list of 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 sons of Gershom: Shebuel the first.

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

And the sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the first; and Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had a great number.

18 Izhar's son was Shelomith the leader.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith 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 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 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.

And at his death Eleazar had no sons, but only daughters, and their relations, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.

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

The sons of Mushi: Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth, 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 were the sons of Levi, grouped by families, the heads of the families of those who were numbered by name, by heads, all those of twenty years old and over who did the work 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 said, The Lord, the God of Israel, has given his people rest, and he has made his resting-place in Jerusalem for ever;

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

And from now, there will be no need for the House of the Lord, and the vessels used in it, to be moved about by the Levites.

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

So among the last acts of David was the numbering of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and over.

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.

Their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron in all the work of the house of the Lord, in the open spaces and in the rooms, in the making clean of all the holy things, in doing all the work of the house of the Lord,

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.

The holy bread was in their care, and the crushed grain for the meal offering, of unleavened cakes or meal cooked over the fire or in water; they had control of all sorts of weights and measures;

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

They had to take their places every morning to give praise and make melody to the Lord, and in the same way at 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.

At every offering of burned offerings to the Lord, on Sabbaths, and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts, in the number ordered by the law, at all times 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 had the care of the Tent of meeting and the holy place, under the direction of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the work of the house of the Lord.