1 Chronicles 23

The Divisions of the Levites

23When David was old and full of days, ^xhe installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. ^y2Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites. ³The Levites 30 years old or more were counted; ^zthe total number of men was 38,000 by headcount. ^a4“Of these,” David said, “24,000 are to be in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple, ^b6,000 are to be officers and judges, ^c54,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments that I have made for worship.” ^d

⁶Then David divided them into divisions according to Levi’s sons: ^eGershom, ^fKohath, and Merari.

⁷The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

⁸Ladan’s sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel—three.

⁹Shimei’s sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three. Those were the heads of the families of Ladan.

¹⁰Shimei’s sons: Jahath, Zizah, ^gJeush, and Beriah. Those were Shimei’s sons—four. ¹¹Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became an ancestral house and received a single assignment.

¹²Kohath’s sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four.

¹³Amram’s sons: ^hAaron and Moses.

Aaron, along with his descendants, ⁱwas set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense in the presence of Yahweh, ^jto minister to Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever. ¹⁴As for Moses the man of God, ^khis sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

¹⁵Moses’ sons: Gershom and Eliezer.

¹⁶Gershom’s sons: Shebuel was first.

¹⁷Eliezer’s sons were Rehabiah, first; Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very numerous.

¹⁸Izhar’s sons: Shelomith was first.

¹⁹Hebron’s sons: Jeriah was first, Amariah second, Jahaziel third, and Jekameam fourth.

²⁰Uzziel’s sons: Micah was first, and Isshiah second.

²¹Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi.

Mahli’s sons: Eleazar and Kish.

²²Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

²³Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three.

²⁴These were the sons of Levi by their ancestral houses—the heads of families, according to their registration by name in the headcount—20 years old or more, who worked in the service of the Lord’s temple. ^l25For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, ^mand He has come to stay in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶Also, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service” ⁿ— ²⁷for according to the last words of David, the Levites 20 years old or more were to be counted— ²⁸“but their duty will be to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the Lord’s temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God’s temple— ²⁹as well as the rows of the bread of the Presence, ^othe fine flour for the grain offering, ^pthe wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, ^qrthe mixing, ^sand all measurements of volume and length. ^t30They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening. ³¹Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons, ^uand appointed festivals, they are to do so regularly in the Lord’s presence according to the number prescribed for them. ^v32They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, ^wand for their relatives, the sons of Aaron, ^xin the service of the Lord’s temple.”