1 Chronicles 23

English Standard Version

David Organizes the Levites

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

²David^[a] assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. ³The Levites, ^(C)thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and ^(D)the total was ^(E)38,000 men. ⁴“Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,^[b] ^(F)“shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be ^(G)officers and judges, ⁵4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments ^(H)that I have made for praise.” ⁶^(I)And David organized them in divisions ^(J)corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷^(K)The sons of Gershon^[c] were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Ladan: ^(L)Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan. ¹⁰And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹Jahath 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^(M)The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³^(N)The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. ^(O)Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should ^(P)make offerings before the Lord and ^(Q)minister to him and ^(R)pronounce blessings in his name forever. ¹⁴But the sons of Moses the ^(S)man of God were named among the ^(T)tribe of Levi. ¹⁵The ^(U)sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶The sons of Gershom: ^(V)Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹The ^(W)sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰^(X)The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

²¹^(Y)The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and ^(Z)Kish. ²²Eleazar died ^(AA)having no sons, but only daughters; their ^(AB)kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. ²³^(AC)The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

²⁴^(AD)These were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses, the heads of fathers' houses ^(AE)as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from ^(AF)twenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²⁵For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AG)has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶And so the Levites no longer need ^(AH)to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” ²⁷For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from ^(AI)twenty years old and upward. ²⁸For 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. ²⁹Their duty was also to assist with the ^(AJ)showbread, the ^(AK)flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the ^(AL)baked offering, the ^(AM)offering mixed with oil, and all ^(AN)measures of quantity or size. ³⁰And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, ³¹and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord ^(AO)on Sabbaths, ^(AP)new moons, and feast days, ^(AQ)according to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. ³²Thus ^(AR)they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the ^(AS)service of the house of the Lord.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 23:2 Hebrew He
1 Chronicles 23:4 Hebrew lacks David said
1 Chronicles 23:7 Vulgate (compare Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew to the Gershonite

Isaiah 24

English Standard Version

Judgment on the Whole Earth

24 Behold, ^(A)the Lord will empty the earth^[a] and make it desolate,
    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
²^(B)And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
    as with the slave, so with his master;
    as with the maid, so with her mistress;
^(C)as with the buyer, so with the seller;
    as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    ^(D)as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³^(E)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    ^(F)for the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴^(G)The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
⁵The earth lies ^(H)defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for ^(I)they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶Therefore ^(J)a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants ^(K)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.
⁷^(L)The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸^(M)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹No more do they drink wine ^(N)with singing;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰^(O)The wasted city is broken down;
    ^(P)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
¹¹^(Q)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
    ^(R)all joy has grown dark;
    the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹²Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.
¹³For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
    among the nations,
^(S)as when an olive tree is beaten,
    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

¹⁴They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
    over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.^[b]
¹⁵^(T)Therefore in the east^[c] give glory to the Lord;
    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶^(U)From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
    of glory to ^(V)the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
    I waste away. Woe is me!
For ^(W)the traitors have betrayed,
    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”

¹⁷^(X)Terror and the pit and the snare^[d]
    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
¹⁸^(Y)He who flees at the sound of the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
For ^(Z)the windows of heaven are opened,
    and ^(AA)the foundations of the earth tremble.
¹⁹The earth is utterly broken,
    the earth is split apart,
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰The earth ^(AB)staggers like a drunken man;
    it sways like a hut;
^(AC)its transgression lies heavy upon it,
    and it falls, and will not rise again.

²¹On that day the Lord will punish
    the host of heaven, in heaven,
    and ^(AD)the kings of the earth, on the earth.
²²^(AE)They will be gathered together
    as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
    and after many days ^(AF)they will be punished.
²³^(AG)Then the moon will be confounded
    and the sun ashamed,
for ^(AH)the Lord of hosts reigns
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.