1 Chronicles 23–26

23RD CHAPTER

The Levites Are Organized to Serve in the Temple

¹When David had grown old and had lived out his years, he made his son Solomon king of Israel. ²He gathered all the officials of Israel and the priests and Levites. ³Every male Levite who was at least 30 years old was counted. There were 38,000. ⁴Of these, 24,000 were appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 were appointed to be officers and judges, ⁵4,000 were appointed to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 were appointed to praise the Lord with the instruments David had made for praising God. ⁶David organized the Levites into divisions based on which of Levi’s sons (Gershon, Kohath, or Merari) they were descended from. 

⁷Ladan and Shimei were Gershon’s descendants. ⁸Ladan had three sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel. ⁹Shimei had three sons: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran. They were the heads of Ladan’s families. ¹⁰Shimei’s sons were Jahath, Zina,^aJeush, and Beriah. They were Shimei’s four sons. ¹¹Jahath was the first, and Ziza was the second. Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons, so they were given an assignment as one family. 

¹²Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹³Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his sons were forever designated to dedicate the most holy things ⸤to God⸥, to offer sacrifices to the Lord, to serve him, and always give the blessing in his name. ¹⁴The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted with the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶Gershom’s only son was Shebuel. ¹⁷Eliezer’s only son was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons. ¹⁸Izhar’s only son was Shelomith. ¹⁹Hebron’s first son was Jeriah; his second was Amariah; his third was Jahaziel; his fourth was Jekameam. ²⁰Uzziel’s first son was Micah; his second was Isshiah. 

²¹Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar died without having any sons. He only had daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. ²³Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. 

²⁴These were Levi’s descendants, who were grouped according to their families. The heads of their families were registered by name as they were counted. Everyone who served in the Lord’s temple was at least 20 years old. ²⁵David had said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest. He will now live in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶The Levites will no longer have to carry the tent and all the utensils used in worship.” 

²⁷David’s last instructions were to count the Levites who were at least 20 years old. ²⁸They were appointed to stand beside Aaron’s descendants to serve in the Lord’s temple. They were appointed to be in charge of the courtyards and the temple rooms, to ensure that all the holy things were clean,^band to serve in God’s temple. ²⁹They were also responsible for the rows of bread, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread wafers, and the bread made in frying pans. In addition, they were responsible for mixing the ingredients and keeping track of all weights and measures. ³⁰They were appointed to stand to give thanks and praise to the Lord every morning. They were appointed to do the same thing in the evening. ³¹They were appointed to stand in front of the Lord in the required numbers whenever burnt offerings were made—on weekly days of rest—holy days, at New Moon Festivals, and on appointed annual festivals. ³²They were appointed to follow the regulations for the tent of meeting and the holy place and to help their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, as they served in the Lord’s temple. 

24TH CHAPTER

The Organization of the Priests

¹The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ²Nadab and Abihu died before their father died, and neither had any children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. 

³David, Eleazar’s descendant Zadok, and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech divided Aaron’s descendants into groups for service. ⁴Since Eleazar’s descendants had more men who were family heads than Ithamar’s descendants, they were divided so that Eleazar’s descendants had 16 family leaders and Ithamar’s descendants had 8 family leaders. ⁵Both groups were divided impartially by drawing lots so that there were officers for the holy place and officers for God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants. ⁶The scribe Shemaiah was a son of Nethanel and a descendant of Levi. Shemaiah recorded their names in the presence of the king, the princes, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech (son of Abiathar), and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. One family was chosen for Eleazar, another for Ithamar. 

⁷The first lot drawn was for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, ⁸the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, ⁹the fifth for Malchiah, the sixth for Mijamin, ¹⁰the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah, ¹¹the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah, ¹²the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim, ¹³the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab, ¹⁴the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer, ¹⁵the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez, ¹⁶the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel, ¹⁷the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul, ¹⁸the twenty-third for Delaiah, the twenty-fourth for Maaziah. ¹⁹These were their priestly groups when they went to serve at the Lord’s temple. Their ancestor Aaron made these rules for them, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him. 

The Organization of the Levites

²⁰⸤The following men were leaders⸥ for Levi’s descendants ⸤from Kohath⸥: 

Jehdeiah (for Amram’s descendants through Shubael), 

²¹Isshiah (⸤for Amram’s descendants⸥ through Rehabiah), 

²²Jahath (for Izhar’s descendants through Shelomoth), 

²³Jeriah (for Hebron’s descendants^a), 

Amariah (the second ⸤of Hebron’s descendants⸥), 

Jahaziel (the third ⸤of Hebron’s descendants⸥), 

Jekameam (the fourth ⸤of Hebron’s descendants⸥), 

²⁴Shamir (for Uzziel’s descendants through Micah), 

²⁵and Zechariah (for ⸤Uzziel’s⸥ descendants through Micah’s brother 

Isshiah). 

²⁶The following men were leaders from Levi’s descendants from Merari: 

Mahli, Mushi, and Merari’s son Jaaziah, 

²⁷Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri (for Merari’s descendants through his son 

Jaaziah), 

²⁸Eleazar (who had no sons, for Mahli’s descendants), 

²⁹Jerahmeel (for ⸤Mahli’s⸥ descendants through Kish), 

³⁰Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth (for Mushi’s descendants). 

These were Levi’s descendants according to their families. ³¹They drew lots as their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, had done. They drew them in front of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the leaders of the families of the priests and Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same way as those of the youngest. 

25TH CHAPTER

David Appoints Musicians for the Temple

¹David and the army commanders appointed the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to serve as prophets with lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men who performed this service: 

²From the sons of Asaph were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah. (They were directed by Asaph, who served as a prophet under the king’s direction.) 

³From the sons of Jeduthun were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, Mattithiah. (The six brothers were directed by their father, the prophet Jeduthun. They thanked and praised the Lord as they played lyres.) 

⁴From the sons of Heman were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵(All of them were the sons of the king’s seer^aHeman. They were given to him to make him prominent, as God had promised. So God gave Heman 14 sons and 3 daughters.) 

⁶All these ⸤Levites⸥ sang at the Lord’s temple under the direction of their fathers Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. They played cymbals, lyres, and harps for worship in God’s temple under the direction of the king. ⁷They, along with their relatives, were trained, skilled musicians for the Lord. There were 288 of them. 

⁸They drew lots for their assignment of duties, the youngest as well as the oldest, the skilled ⸤musicians⸥ along with the students. 

⁹The first lot drawn chose Joseph, the son of Asaph. 

The second chose Gedaliah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁰The third chose Zaccur, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹¹The fourth chose Izri, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹²The fifth chose Nethaniah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹³The sixth chose Bukkiah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁴The seventh chose Jesarelah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁵The eighth chose Jeshaiah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁶The ninth chose Mattaniah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁷The tenth chose Shimei, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁸The eleventh chose Azarel, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

¹⁹The twelfth chose Hashabiah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁰The thirteenth chose Shubael, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²¹The fourteenth chose Mattithiah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²²The fifteenth chose Jeremoth, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²³The sixteenth chose Hananiah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁴The seventeenth chose Joshbekashah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁵The eighteenth chose Hanani, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁶The nineteenth chose Mallothi, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁷The twentieth chose Eliathah, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁸The twenty-first chose Hothir, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

²⁹The twenty-second chose Giddalti, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

³⁰The twenty-third chose Mahazioth, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

³¹The twenty-fourth chose Romamti Ezer, his sons, and his relatives—12 men. 

26TH CHAPTER

David Appoints Gatekeepers for the Temple

¹The following were the divisions of the gatekeepers: For Korah’s descendants there…