1 Chronicles 23

David Organizes the Levites

1 When David got old and had seen a lot of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

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

3 The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted. The total number of them was thirty-eight thousand dudes.

4 From these, twenty-four thousand were put in charge of the work of the Lord’s temple, six thousand were officials and judges,

5 Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were praising the Lord with instruments that David made for praising.

6 David divided them into groups according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 From the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel, three.

9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.

11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah was the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one division for service.

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

13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to make holy offerings, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, to serve Him, and to bless in His Name forever.

14 But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted among the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.

17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah had a lot of sons.

18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.

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

20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

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

22 Eleazar passed away and had no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24 These were the sons of Levi according to their families, the heads of the families, according to their counts, counting by name, by head count, those who did the work of the service of the Lord’s temple, from twenty years old and up.

25 Because David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to live in Jerusalem forever.”

26 “So the Levites do not have to carry the tabernacle or any of its items for its service anymore.”

27 (For by the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from twenty years old and up.)

28 Their job was to assist the sons of Aaron in the service of the Lord’s temple, in the courtyards and in the chambers, for the purification of all holy things, and for the work of the service of God’s temple,

29 And for the showbread, and for the fine flour for the grain offering, and for the unleavened wafers, and for what is cooked in pans, and for what is baked, and for all kinds of weights and measures,

30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise in the evening,

31 And to offer all burnt offerings to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and on the appointed festivals, according to the number prescribed for them, regularly before the Lord.

32 They were to keep charge of the Tent of Meeting, and charge of the sanctuary, and charge of the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the Lord’s temple.