1 Chronicles 23:1-32

23  And David grew old, had lived as long as he wanted to, and he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2  And he brought together all the princes of Israel, and the priests and the Levites. 3  And the Levites were counted, from thirty years old up; and the number of them poll by poll, of men, was thirty-eight thousand. 4 * Of these, to direct the work on Jehovah’s house there were twenty-four thousand, and marshals and judges six thousand, 5  and four thousand gatemen, and four thousand praising Jehovah “with the instruments I made for praising.” 6  And David arranged them in divisions by Levi’s sons, Gershon, Kehath, and Merari: 7  Of the Gershonites, Laghdan and Shimei. 8  Laghdan’s sons, Jehiel the head, and Zetham and Joel, three. 9  Shimei’s sons, Shelomith and Haziel and Haran, three. These were Laghdan’s heads of families. 10  And Shimei’s sons, Jahath, Ziza, and Jeghush and Beriʽah; these were Shimei’s sons, four. 11  And Jahath was the head and Ziza the second; and Jeghush and Beriʽah did not have many children, and became a family for one assignment. 12  The sons of Kehath were ʽAmram, Ishar, Hebron, and ʽUzziel, four. 13  The sons of ʽAmram were Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart to be consecrated holiest of the holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before Jehovah, to wait on him, and to bless in his name, forever, 14  but the sons of Moses the man of God went under the name of the tribe of Levi. 15  The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliʽezer. 16  The sons of Gershom were Shubael the head; and the sons of Eliʽezer were Rehabiah the head; 17  and Eliʽezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were uncommonly numerous. 18  The sons of Ishar were Shelomith the head. 19  The sons of Hebron were Jerijah the head, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20  The sons of ʽUzziel were Micah the head and Isshijah the second. 21  The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22  And Eleazar died having no sons but daughters, whom the sons of their brother Kish married. 23  The sons of Mushi were Mahli and Gheder and Jeremoth, three. 24  These were the sons of Levi by their families, heads of families by their muster in number of names poll by poll, doing the work for the service of Jehovah’s house from twenty years old up. 25  For David thought “Israel’s God Jehovah has given his people rest and taken up his abode in Jerusalem forever, 26  and neither will the Levites have to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels for its service.” 27  (For by David’s last words they, the count of the sons of Levi, were from twenty years old up.) 28  For their station was at the side of the sons of Aaron for the service of Jehovah’s house, over the courts and the vestries and cleansing for every sacred purpose, and the doing of the service of God’s house 29  as to the stacked bread and the farina for the meal-offering and for the sheet-matzoth and for the griddle and for the beaten dish, and as to all measures of capacity and of length, 30  and to stand morning by morning to give thanks and praise to Jehovah, and the same for evening 31  and for all presentations of burnt-offerings to Jehovah, for the sabbaths, the new moons, and the annual dates, by number in accordance with the law for them, regularly before Jehovah; 32  and they were to do the duties for the Tent of Meeting and for the sacred things and for their brothers the sons of Aaron as to the service of God’s house.

Footnotes

23:4 Or to direct the administration of