1 Chronicles 23

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

When David was old, having lived a long life, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

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

He also summoned all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the 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.

The Levites over thirty years old were counted, and there was 38,000 in total.

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 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the house of the LORD, while 6,000 will be officers and judges,” David instructed.

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.”

“And 4,000 will be gatekeepers, while 4,000 will praise the Lord using the musical instruments I have provided for praise worship.”

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.

David divided them into sections corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

The sons of Gershon: Ladan and Shimei.

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

The sons of Ladan: Jehiel (chief), and Zetham, and Joel, three in total.

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 Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three in total. These were the leaders of the families of Ladan.

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

The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah—four in total.

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.

Jahath (chief), and Zizah (second); but because Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons they were counted as a single family.

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

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—a total of 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. Aaron was dedicated to service with the most holy things, that he and his sons should always present offerings to the Lord, and minister before him, and give blessings in his name forever.

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

As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The oldest son of Gershom was Shubael.

The sons of Gershom: Shebuel (chief).

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

The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah (chief). Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.

18 The oldest son of Izhar was Shelomith.

The sons of Izhar: Shelomith (chief).

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

The sons of Hebron: Jeriah (chief), Amariah (second), Jahaziel (third), and Jekameam (fourth).

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

The sons of Uzziel: Micah (chief) and Isshiah (second).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 were the descendants of Levi by family, the heads of families chiefs listed individually by name—those twenty years of age or more who served in the house of the Lord.

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, has given peace to his people, and he will live in Jerusalem forever.

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

So the Levites don't need to carry the Tent any longer, or anything needed for its service.”

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.

In accordance with David's final instructions, Levites twenty years of age or more were counted.

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.

Their assignment was to help the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord They were responsible for the courtyards and rooms, for cleansing all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God.

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.

They were also responsible for the showbread that was placed on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and dealing with all amounts and measurements.

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.

They also had to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and do the same 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.

and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord whether on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days. They were to serve regularly before the Lord according to the number required for them.

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.

So the Levites were to carry out the responsibility of caring for the Tent of Meeting and the sanctuary, and with their brothers the descendants of Aaron, they served the house of the Lord.