1 Chronicles 23-25
Christian Standard Bible
The Divisions of the Levites
23 When David was old and full of days,(A) he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.(B) 2 Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted;(C) the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand by headcount.(D) 4 “Of these,” David said, “twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple,(E) six thousand are to be officers and judges,(F) 5 four thousand are to be gatekeepers, and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the instruments that I have made for worship.”(G)
6 Then David divided them into divisions according to Levi’s sons:(H) Gershom,[a] Kohath, and Merari.
7 The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 Ladan’s sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel—three.
9 Shimei’s sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three. Those were the heads of the families of Ladan.
10 Shimei’s sons: Jahath, Zizah,[b] Jeush, and Beriah. Those were Shimei’s sons—four. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became one family[c] and received a single assignment.
12 Kohath’s sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four.
13 Amram’s sons:(I) Aaron and Moses.
Aaron, along with his descendants,(J) was set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense in the presence of the Lord,(K) to minister to him, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 As for Moses the man of God,(L) his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 Moses’s sons: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Gershom’s sons: Shebuel was first.
17 Eliezer’s sons were Rehabiah, first; Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very numerous.
18 Izhar’s sons: Shelomith was first.
19 Hebron’s sons: Jeriah was first, Amariah second, Jahaziel third, and Jekameam fourth.
20 Uzziel’s sons: Micah was first, and Isshiah second.
21 Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi.
Mahli’s sons: Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three.
24 These were the descendants of Levi by their ancestral families[d]—the family heads, according to their registration by name in the headcount—twenty years old or more, who worked in the service of the Lord’s temple.(M) 25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to his people,(N) and he has come to stay in Jerusalem forever. 26 Also, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service”(O)— 27 for according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted— 28 “but their duty will be to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the Lord’s temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God’s temple— 29 as well as the rows of the Bread of the Presence,(P) the fine flour for the grain offering,(Q) the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking,[e](R) the mixing,(S) and all measurements of volume and length.(T) 30 They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening. 31 Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons,(U) and appointed festivals, they are to offer them regularly in the Lord’s presence according to the number prescribed for them.(V) 32 They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place,(W) and for their relatives, the descendants of Aaron,(X) in the service of the Lord’s temple.”
The Divisions of the Priests
24 The divisions of the descendants of Aaron were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.(Y) 2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.(Z) 3 Together with Zadok(AA) from the descendants of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the descendants of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service. 4 Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of ancestral families[f] were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral families were from Ithamar’s. 5 They(AB) were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.
6 The secretary, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the officers, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech(AC) son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites. One ancestral family[g] was taken for Eleazar, and then one for Ithamar.
7 The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
8 the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
9 the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,(AD)
11 the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,
12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
14 the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
15 the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,
17 the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
18 the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
19 These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.
The Rest of the Levites
20 As for the rest of Levi’s sons:
from Amram’s sons: Shubael;
from Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.
21 From Rehabiah:
from Rehabiah’s sons: Isshiah was the first.
22 From the Izharites: Shelomoth;
from Shelomoth’s sons: Jahath.
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second,
Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
24 From Uzziel’s sons: Micah;
from Micah’s sons: Shamir.
25 Micah’s brother: Isshiah;
from Isshiah’s sons: Zechariah.
26 Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi,
and from his sons, Jaaziah his son.[i]
27 Merari’s sons, by his son Jaaziah:[j]
Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.
28 From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 From Kish, from Kish’s sons: Jerahmeel.
30 Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
Those were the descendants of the Levites according to their ancestral families.[k] 31 They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family heads and their younger brothers alike.(AF)
The Levitical Musicians
25 David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman,(AG) and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy(AH) accompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals.(AI) This is the list of the men who performed their service:
2 From Asaph’s sons:
Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under Asaph’s authority, who prophesied under the authority of the king.
3 From Jeduthun:(AJ) Jeduthun’s sons:
Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[l] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah—six—under the authority of their father Jeduthun, prophesying to the accompaniment of lyres, giving thanks and praise to the Lord.
4 From Heman: Heman’s sons:
Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these sons of Heman, the king’s seer,(AK) were given by the promises of God to exalt him,[m] for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
6 All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the Lord’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority. 7 They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the Lord. 8 They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.(AL)
| 9 The first lot for Asaph fell to Joseph, his sons, and his relatives— | 12[n] |
| to Gedaliah the second: him, his relatives, and his sons— | 12 |
| 10 the third to Zaccur, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 11 the fourth to Izri,[o] his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 12 the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 13 the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 14 the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 15 the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 16 the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 17 the tenth to Shimei, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 18 the eleventh to Azarel,[p] his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 19 the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 20 the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 21 the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 22 the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 23 the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 24 the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 25 the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 26 the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 27 the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 28 the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 29 the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 30 the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons, and his relatives— | 12 |
| 31 and the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons, and his relatives— | 12. |
Footnotes
- 23:6 Lit Gershon
- 23:10 LXX, Vg; MT reads Zina
- 23:11 Lit a father’s house
- 23:24 Lit the house of their fathers
- 23:29 Lit the griddle
- 24:4 Lit house of fathers
- 24:6 Lit father’s house
- 24:23 Some Hb mss, some LXX mss; other Hb mss omit Hebron’s; 1Ch 23:19
- 24:26 Or Mushi; Jaaziah’s sons: Beno.
- 24:27 Or sons, Jaaziah: Beno,
- 24:30 Lit the house of their fathers
- 25:3 One Hb ms, LXX; other Hb mss omit Shimei
- 25:5 Lit by the words of God to lift a horn
- 25:9 LXX; MT lacks his sons, and his relatives—12
- 25:11 Variant of Zeri
- 25:18 Variant of Uzziel
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