1 Chronicles 23

The Divisions of the Levites

1 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand.4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were officers and judges,5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the Lord with musical instruments, which I made, said David, for giving praise.6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei.8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joelthree in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haranthree in all. These were the heads of the fathers houses of Laadan.10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei.11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one fathers house.12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzzielfour in all. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever.14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.15 The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer.16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the first.17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first.19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoththree in all. 24 These were the sons of Levi by their fathers housesthe heads of the fathers houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and above.25 For David said, The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever;26 and also to the Levites, They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above;28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God,29 both with the showbread and the fine flour for the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes;30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening;31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the Lord;32 and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the Lord.

1 CHRONICLES 23

David Assigns the Levites //Their Duties

1  t David was old when he chose his son Solomon to be king of Israel. 2 Some time later, David called together all of Israel's leaders, priests, and Levites. 3 He then counted the Levite men who were at least 30 years old, and the total was 38,000. 4 He said, “Twenty-four thousand of the Levites will be in charge of the temple, 6,000 will be temple officials and judges,

5 4,000 will be guards at the temple, and 4,000 will praise the [Lord] by playing the musical instruments I have given them.”

6 David then divided the Levites into three groups according to the clans of Levi's sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. 8 Ladan was the father of Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel. 9 They were all family leaders among their father's descendants. Shimei was the father of Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.

10-11 Later, Shimei had four more sons, in the following order: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. But Jeush and Beriah didn't have many children, so their descendants were counted as one family.
12 Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 t Amram was the father of Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen to be in charge of all the sacred things. They served the [Lord] by offering sacrifices to him and by blessing the people in his name. 14-15 Moses, the man of God, was the father of Gershom and Eliezer, and their descendants were considered Levites. 16 Gershom's oldest son was Shebuel. 17 Rehabiah, who was Eliezer's only son, had many children. 18 The second son born to Kohath was Izhar, and his oldest son was Shelomith. 19 Hebron, the third son of Kohath, was the father of Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.

20 Kohath's youngest son, Uzziel, was the father of Micah and Isshiah.
21 Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. Mahli was the father of Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar had no sons, only daughters, and they married their uncle's sons.

23 Mushi the second son of Merari, was the father of Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

24 These were the clans and families of the tribe of Levi. Those who were 20 years and older were assigned to work at the [Lord]'s temple.

25 David said:
The [Lord] God of Israel has given his people peace, and he will live in Jerusalem forever. 26 t And so, the Levites won't need to move the sacred tent and the things used for worship from place to place. 27 From now on, all Levites at least 20 years old 28 t will serve the [Lord] by helping Aaron's descendants do their work at the temple, by keeping the courtyards and rooms of the temple clean, and by making sure that everything used in worship stays pure.

29 They will also be in charge of the sacred loaves of bread, the flour for the grain sacrifices, the thin wafers, any offerings to be baked, and the flour mixed with olive oil. These Levites will weigh and measure these offerings.
30 Every morning and evening, the Levites are to give thanks to the [Lord] and sing praises to him. 31 They must also give thanks and sing praises when sacrifices are offered on each Sabbath, as well as during New Moon Festivals and other religious feasts. There must always be enough Levites on duty at the temple to do everything that needs to be done. 32 They were once in charge of taking care of the sacred tent; now they are responsible for the temple and for helping Aaron's descendants.