1 ChroniclesChapter 23
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1David was old and had lived a full life. He made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel. He also gathered the priests and Levites. 3The Levites who were 30 years old or older were counted. There were 38,000 men in all. 4David said, "Of these, 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the house of the LORD. And 6,000 will be officers and judges. 54,000 will be gatekeepers. And 4,000 will praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for praise." 6Then David divided the Levites into groups by the sons of Levi. These were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7The Gershonites were Ladan and Shimei. 8The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel. There were three in all. 9The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. There were three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan. 10And the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11Jahath was the first, and Zizah was the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons. So they were counted as one family and given one job. 12The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. There were four in all. 13The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever. They were to make the most holy things holy. They were to burn incense before the LORD and serve him. And they were to give blessings in his name forever. 14Moses was the man of God. His sons were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. 15The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. 16Among the descendants of Gershom, Shebuel was the first. 17Among the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons. But Rehabiah had very many sons. 18Among the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first. 19The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second. 21The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22Eleazar died without having sons. He had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. 23The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. There were three in all. 24These were the descendants of Levi by their families. They were the heads of families, each listed by name. They were 20 years old or older. They worked in the service of the house of the LORD. 25For David had said, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people. He has come to live in Jerusalem forever. 26So now the Levites don't need to carry the tabernacle anymore. They don't need to carry any of the objects used in its service." 27David's last instructions said to count the Levites who were 20 years old or older. 28But their job was to help the descendants of Aaron serve in the house of the LORD. They were in charge of the courtyards and the rooms. They made all the holy things pure. They did the work of serving in the house of God. 29They were also in charge of the rows of the bread of the Presence. They took care of the fine flour for the grain offering and the thin wafers made without yeast. They did the baking and the mixing. They took care of all the measuring of amounts and sizes. 30They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same every evening. 31Burnt offerings were given to the LORD on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons, and at the set feasts. At those times the Levites were to serve before the LORD regularly. They served in the numbers set for them. 32So the Levites were to take care of the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place. They also helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the house of the LORD.