The Levites

23 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon(A) king over Israel.(B)

He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. The Levites thirty years old or more(C) were counted,(D) and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.(E) David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge(F) of the work(G) of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges.(H) Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments(I) I have provided for that purpose.”(J)

David separated(K) the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi:(L) Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Gershonites

Belonging to the Gershonites:(M)

Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Ladan:

Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.

The sons of Shimei:

Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.

These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 And the sons of Shimei:

Jahath, Ziza,[a] 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

12 The sons of Kohath:(N)

Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.

13 The sons of Amram:(O)

Aaron and Moses.

Aaron was set apart,(P) he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister(Q) before him and to pronounce blessings(R) in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man(S) of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses:

Gershom and Eliezer.(T)

16 The descendants of Gershom:(U)

Shubael was the first.

17 The descendants of Eliezer:

Rehabiah(V) was the first.

Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

18 The sons of Izhar:

Shelomith(W) was the first.

19 The sons of Hebron:(X)

Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

20 The sons of Uzziel:

Micah the first and Ishiah the second.

Merarites

21 The sons of Merari:(Y)

Mahli and Mushi.(Z)

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.(AA)

23 The sons of Mushi:

Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.

24 These 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(AB) who served in the temple of the Lord. 25 For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest(AC) to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.”(AD) 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

28 The 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(AE) of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. 29 They were in charge of the bread set out on the table,(AF) the special flour for the grain offerings,(AG) the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.(AH) 30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening(AI) 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon(AJ) feasts and at the appointed festivals.(AK) They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

32 And so the Levites(AL) carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting,(AM) for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.(AN)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:10 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also verse 11); most Hebrew manuscripts Zina

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

And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

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.

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:

Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.

The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.

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.

11 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.

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.

17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.

19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah 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.

23 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:

26 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:

28 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;

29 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;

30 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.

The Divisions of the Levites

23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son (A)Solomon king over Israel.

And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. Now the Levites were numbered from the age of (B)thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. Of these, twenty-four thousand were to (C)look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were (D)officers and judges, four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand (E)praised the Lord with musical instruments, (F)“which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

Also (G)David separated them into [a]divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Of the (H)Gershonites: [b]Laadan and Shimei. The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, [c]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 father’s house.

12 (I)The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. 13 The sons of (J)Amram: Aaron and Moses; and (K)Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should [d]sanctify the most holy things, (L)to burn incense before the Lord, (M)to minister to Him, and (N)to give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now (O)the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. 15 (P)The sons of Moses were [e]Gershon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, (Q)Shebuel[f] was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, (R)Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, (S)Shelomith was the first. 19 (T)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 (U)The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and (V)Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and (W)had no sons, but only daughters; and their [g]brethren, the sons of Kish, (X)took them as wives. 23 (Y)The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

24 These were the sons of (Z)Levi by their fathers’ houses—the 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 (AA)twenty years and above.

25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel (AB)has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”; 26 and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer (AC)carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.” 27 For by the (AD)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 (AE)the showbread and (AF)the fine flour for the grain offering, with (AG)the unleavened cakes and (AH)what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of (AI)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 (AJ)on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the (AK)set[h] feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the Lord; 32 and that they should (AL)attend to the (AM)needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the (AN)needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:6 groups
  2. 1 Chronicles 23:7 Libni, Ex. 6:17
  3. 1 Chronicles 23:10 LXX, Vg. Zizah and v. 11
  4. 1 Chronicles 23:13 consecrate
  5. 1 Chronicles 23:15 Heb. Gershom, 1 Chr. 6:16
  6. 1 Chronicles 23:16 Shubael, 1 Chr. 24:20
  7. 1 Chronicles 23:22 kinsmen
  8. 1 Chronicles 23:31 appointed feasts