1 Chronicles 23

1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.4 Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges:s5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.6 And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.s

7 Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.s8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.10 And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.s11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house.s

12 The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.13 The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.14 Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.15 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.16 Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.s17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.ss18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.s19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.s23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24 These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward.25 For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:s26 And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:s28 Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;s29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;s30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even;31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord:32 And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 23

The Levites Are Organized to Serve in the Temple

1 When David had grown old and had lived out his years, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.2 He gathered all the officials of Israel and the priests and Levites.3 Every male Levite who was at least 30 years old was counted. There were 38,000.4 Of these, 24,000 were appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 were appointed to be officers and judges,5 4,000 were appointed to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 were appointed to praise the Lord with the instruments David had made for praising God.

6 David organized the Levites into divisions based on which of Levi’s sons (Gershon, Kohath, or Merari) they were descended from.
7 Ladan and Shimei were Gershon’s descendants.8 Ladan had three sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel.9 Shimei had three sons: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran. They were the heads of Ladan’s families.10 Shimei’s sons were Jahath, Zina,t Jeush, and Beriah. They were Shimei’s four sons.

11 Jahath 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.
12 Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.13 Amram’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.14 The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted with the tribe of Levi.15 Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer.16 Gershom’s only son was Shebuel.17 Eliezer’s only son was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.18 Izhar’s only son was Shelomith.19 Hebron’s first son was Jeriah; his second was Amariah; his third was Jahaziel; his fourth was Jekameam.

20 Uzziel’s first son was Micah; his second was Isshiah.
21 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish.22 Eleazar died without having any sons. He only had daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
24 These 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.25 David had said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest. He will now live in Jerusalem forever.

26 The Levites will no longer have to carry the tent and all the utensils used in worship.”
27 David’s last instructions were to count the Levites who were at least 20 years old.28 They 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,t and to serve in God’s temple.29 They 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.30 They 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.31 They were appointed to stand in front of the Lord in the required numbers whenever burnt offerings were made—on weekly worship days, at New Moon Festivals, and on appointed annual festivals.

32 They 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.