1 Chronicles 23

David Organizes the Levites

a When David was old and full of days b he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

David
Hebrew He
assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites.
The Levites, d thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and e the total was f 38,000 men. Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,
Hebrew lacks  David said
h “shall have charge of the work in the house of the  Lord, 6,000 shall be i officers and judges,
4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the  Lord with the instruments j that I have made for praise.” k And David organized them in divisions l corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

m The sons of Gershon
Vulgate (compare Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew to the Gershonite
were Ladan and Shimei.
The sons of Ladan: o Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath 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.

12  p The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13  q The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. r Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should s make offerings before the  Lord and t minister to him and u pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 But the sons of Moses the v man of God were named among the w tribe of Levi. 15 The x sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: y Shebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The z sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20  aa The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

21  ab The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and ac Kish. 22 Eleazar died ad having no sons, but only daughters; their ae kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. 23  af The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24  ag These were the sons of Levi by their fathershouses, the heads of fathers’ houses ah as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from ai twenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the  Lord. 25 For David said, “The  Lord, the God of Israel, aj has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 And so the Levites no longer need ak to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from al twenty years old and upward. 28 For 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. 29 Their duty was also to assist with the am showbread, the an flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the ao baked offering, the ap offering mixed with oil, and all aq measures of quantity or size. 30 And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the  Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the  Lord ar on Sabbaths, as new moons, and feast days, at according to the number required of them, regularly before the  Lord. 32 Thus au they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the av service of the house of the  Lord.

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