1When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.2He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.3The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.4David said, ‘Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges.5Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.’6David separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Gershonites
7Belonging to the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel – three in all.9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran – three in all. (These were the heads of the families of Ladan.)10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza,[1] Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei – four in all.11(Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.)
Kohathites
12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel – four in all.13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants for ever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name for ever.14The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.16The descendants of Gershom: Shubael was the first.17The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. (Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.)18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Ishiah the second.
Merarites
21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.22(Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.)23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth – three in all.24These were the descendants of Levi by their families – the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord.25For David had said, ‘Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem for ever,26the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.’27According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.28The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God.29They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.30They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening31and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.32And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.
1 Chronicles 23
English Standard Version
David Organizes the Levites
1When David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. (1Ki 1:33; 1Ch 28:5; 1Ch 29:22; 1Ch 29:28)2David[1] assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites.3The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and the total was 38,000 men. (Nu 1:2; Nu 4:3; Nu 4:47; 1Ch 23:24)4“Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,[2] “shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be officers and judges, (De 16:18; 1Ch 26:29; 2Ch 2:2; 2Ch 2:18; 2Ch 19:8; 2Ch 34:12; Ezr 3:8)54,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise.” (2Ch 29:25; Ne 12:36; Am 6:5)6And David organized them in divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (Ex 6:16; Nu 26:57; 1Ch 6:1; 1Ch 6:16; 2Ch 8:14; 2Ch 23:18; 2Ch 35:4; Ezr 6:18)7The sons of Gershon[3] were Ladan and Shimei. (1Ch 26:21)8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. (1Ch 15:18; 1Ch 26:21; 1Ch 29:8)9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan.10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.11Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father’s house.12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. (Ex 6:18; Nu 3:19; 1Ch 6:18; 1Ch 26:23)13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should make offerings before the Lord and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever. (Ex 6:20; Ex 28:1; Ex 30:7; Nu 6:23; Nu 16:40; De 21:5; 1Sa 2:28; Heb 5:4)14But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of Levi. (De 33:1; 1Ch 26:23)15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. (Ex 2:22; Ex 18:3)16The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. (1Ch 26:24)17The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. (1Ch 24:23; 1Ch 26:31)20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second. (1Ch 24:24)21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. (Ex 6:19; Nu 26:58; 1Ch 6:19; 1Ch 6:29; 1Ch 24:26; 1Ch 24:29)22Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters; their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. (Nu 36:6; Nu 36:8; 1Ch 24:28)23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three. (1Ch 24:30)24These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of fathers’ houses as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from twenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord. (Nu 4:3; Nu 8:24; Nu 10:17; Nu 10:21; 1Ch 23:3; 2Ch 31:17; Ezr 3:8)25For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. (1Ch 22:18)26And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” (Nu 4:5)27For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. (1Ch 23:24)28For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God.29Their duty was also to assist with the showbread, the flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and all measures of quantity or size. (Le 6:20; Le 6:21; Le 7:12; Le 19:35; Le 24:5; 1Ch 9:29; 1Ch 9:31)30And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening,31and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, according to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. (Le 23:2; Le 23:4; Nu 28:11; Isa 1:13)32Thus they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of the house of the Lord. (Nu 1:53; Nu 3:6)