利未人的职务

23 大卫年纪老迈,寿数将尽,就立他儿子所罗门为以色列王。 他召集了以色列的众首领、祭司和利未人。 凡三十岁以上的利未人都在统计之列,共有三万八千男子, 其中有两万四千人在耶和华的殿里司职,六千人做官长和审判官, 四千人守门,四千人用大卫提供的乐器颂赞耶和华。 大卫将利未人革顺、哥辖和米拉利的子孙分成班次。

革顺的儿子有拉但和示每。 拉但有长子耶歇,还有细坦和约珥,共三个儿子, 都是拉但族的族长。示每的儿子有示罗密、哈薛和哈兰三人。 10 示每的儿子还有雅哈、细拿、耶乌施和比利亚四人。 11 雅哈是长子,细拿是次子。耶乌施和比利亚的子孙不多,所以合为一族。

12 哥辖有暗兰、以斯哈、希伯仑、乌薛四个儿子。 13 暗兰的儿子是亚伦和摩西。亚伦和他的子孙永远被分别出来事奉耶和华,向祂献至圣之物,在祂面前烧香,奉祂的名祝福,直到永远。 14 上帝的仆人摩西的子孙归在利未支派的名下。 15 摩西的儿子是革舜和以利以谢。 16 革舜的长子是细布业。 17 以利以谢只有一个儿子利哈比雅,但利哈比雅子孙众多。 18 以斯哈的长子是示罗密。 19 希伯仑的长子是耶利雅,次子是亚玛利亚,三子是雅哈悉,四子是耶加缅。 20 乌薛的长子是米迦,次子是耶西雅。

21 米拉利的儿子是抹利、姆示。抹利的儿子是以利亚撒、基士。 22 以利亚撒终生没有儿子,只有女儿,同族人基士的儿子娶了她们为妻。 23 姆示的三个儿子是末力、以得和耶利摩。 24 以上是利未各宗族的子孙,他们登记在各自族长的名下,凡二十岁以上的男子都在耶和华的殿里任职。 25 大卫说:“以色列的上帝耶和华已使祂的子民安享太平,祂永远住在耶路撒冷。 26 利未人再不用抬圣幕和其中的器皿了。” 27 按照大卫临终时的嘱咐,二十岁以上的利未人都已被统计。 28 他们的任务是帮助亚伦的子孙在耶和华的殿里司职,管理殿的院子和厢房,负责洁净圣物等事务。 29 他们还负责供饼、做素祭的细面粉、无酵薄饼的调和、烤制、分量和尺寸。 30 他们每天早晚要肃立、颂赞耶和华, 31 每逢安息日、朔日[a]或其他节期,他们要按照规定的数目将燔祭献给耶和华, 32 并负责看守会幕和圣所,帮助他们的亲族——亚伦的子孙在耶和华的殿里供职。

Footnotes

  1. 23:31 朔日”即每月初一。

David appoints the Levites

23 When David had grown old after a long life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. He then gathered together all Israel’s leaders along with the priests and the Levites. When the Levites were counted, the head count of every male 30 and older totaled 38,000. Of these, there were 24,000 to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 officers and judges, 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 praising the Lord with instruments made[a] for offering praise. Then David divided them into three groups named after Levi’s family members: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershonites

The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei.

Ladan’s family: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all. Jehiel’s[b] family: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the households of Ladan.

10 Shimei’s family: Jahath, Ziza,[c] Jeush, and Beriah. These four were Shimei’s family: 11 Jahath was the first, and Ziza the second; since Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many children, they became a single household.

Kohathites

12 Kohath’s family: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

13 Amram’s family: Aaron and Moses. Aaron, together with his sons, was set apart to make the holiest objects holy, to make offerings before the Lord, to serve him, and to give blessings in his name forever.

14 As for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites. 15 Moses’ family: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 Gershom’s family: Shebuel the first.

17 Eliezer’s family: Rehabiah the first; Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many children.

18 Izhar’s family: Shelomoth[d] the first.

19 Hebron’s family: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20 Uzziel’s family: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

Merarites

21 Merari’s family: Mahli and Mushi.

Mahli’s family: Eleazar and Kish.

22 Eleazar died without sons, but he did have daughters who married their relatives from Kish’s family.

23 Mushi’s family: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

24 These were the members of Levi’s family according to their households. The household heads were registered, along with a listing of the names of each person 20 years old and above who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple.

Levites’ duties

25 David said, “Since the Lord, Israel’s God, has given his people peace and has made his home in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites need no longer carry the dwelling or any of the equipment used in its service.” 27 David’s last instructions were to count the Levites 20 years old and above. 28 Their assignment was to be at the side of the Aaronites to serve in the Lord’s temple, maintaining the courtyards and side rooms and cleansing all of the holy objects and doing whatever was needed in the service of God’s temple. 29 They were responsible for the stacks of bread, the fine flour for grain offerings, the wafers of unleavened bread, the cakes made on the griddle, the offering mixed with oil, as well as all the measuring. 30 They were to be present every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and to do the same every evening. 31 Whenever entirely burned offerings were offered to the Lord for the sabbaths, the new moons, and festivals, a designated number were to serve in the Lord’s presence continuously. 32 In this way they were to observe the instructions for the meeting tent, the instructions for the sanctuary, and the instructions for Aaron’s family and relatives about serving in the Lord’s temple.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:5 LXX, Vulg; MT I made
  2. 1 Chronicles 23:9 Cf 23:8, 10; MT Shimei’s
  3. 1 Chronicles 23:10 LXX; MT Zina
  4. 1 Chronicles 23:18 LXX, Syr, Aram; MT Shelomith

23 1 David being old, ordaineth Solomon King. 3 He causeth the Levites to be numbered, 4 and assigneth them to their offices. 13 Aaron and his sons are for the high Priest. 14 The sons of Moses.

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

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

And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above, and their number according to their sum was eight and thirty thousand men.

Of these four and twenty thousand were set to [a]advance the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were overseers and judges.

And four thousand were porters, and four thousand praised the Lord with instruments which [b]he made to praise the Lord.

(B)So David divided offices unto them, to wit, to the sons of Levi, to (C)Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Of the Gershonites were [c]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 fathers of Laadan.

10 Also the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah: these four were the sons of Shimei.

11 And Jahath was the chief, and [d]Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: therefore they were in the families of their father, counted but as one.

12 ¶ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel, four.

13 (D)The sons of Amram, Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated to [e]sanctify the most holy place, he and his sons forever to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to him, and to bless in his Name forever.

14 ¶ Moses also the man of God and his children were named with the [f]tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses were Gershon, and Eliezer.

16 Of the sons of (E)Gershon was Shebuel the chief.

17 And the son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the [g]chief: for Eliezer had none other sons: but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

18 The son of Izhar was Shelomith the chief.

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

20 The sons of Uzziel were Michah the first, and Jesshiah the second.

21 ¶ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli, Eleazar and Kish.

22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters, and their [h]brethren the sons of Kish took them.

23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24 These were the sons of Levi according to the house of their fathers, even the chief fathers according to their offices, according to the number of names, and their sum that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord from the age of [i]twenty years and above.

25 For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever.

26 And also the Levites shall no more bear the Tabernacle and all the vessels for the service thereof.

27 Therefore according to the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from twenty years and above,

28 And their office was under the hand of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts, and chambers, and in the [j]purifying of all holy things, and in the work of the service of the house of God,

29 Both for the showbread, and for the fine flour, for the meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for the fried things, and for that which was roasted, and for all measures and size,

30 And for to stand every morning, to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise at even,

31 And to offer all burnt offerings unto the Lord in the Sabbaths, in the months, and at the appointed times, according to the number and according to their custom, 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.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:4 Or, to have care over.
  2. 1 Chronicles 23:5 Hebrew, I made, meaning David.
  3. 1 Chronicles 23:7 Or, Libni, 1 Chron. 6:17.
  4. 1 Chronicles 23:11 Or, Zina.
  5. 1 Chronicles 23:13 That is, to serve in the most holy place, and to consecrate the holy things.
  6. 1 Chronicles 23:14 They were but of the order of the Levites, and not of the Priests as Aaron’s sons.
  7. 1 Chronicles 23:17 The Scripture useth to call chief or the firstborn, although he be alone and there be none born after, Matt. 1:25.
  8. 1 Chronicles 23:22 Meaning, their cousins.
  9. 1 Chronicles 23:24 David did choose the Levites twice, first at the age of thirty, as verse 3 and again afterward at 20, as the necessity of the office did require: at the beginning they had no charge in the Temple, before they were five and twenty years old, and had none after fifty, Num. 4:3.
  10. 1 Chronicles 23:28 In washing and cleansing all the holy vessels.

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