The Levites

23 After David ·had lived long [^Lwas full of years] and was old, he made his son Solomon the new king of Israel. ² David gathered all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and Levites. ³ He counted the Levites who were thirty years old and older, and they totaled thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand Levites will ·direct [oversee; supervise] the work of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord, six thousand Levites will be ·officers [officials] and judges, ⁵ four thousand Levites will be gatekeepers, and four thousand Levites will praise the Lord with musical instruments I made for ·giving praise [worship].”

⁶ David separated the Levites into three groups that were led by Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The People of Gershon

⁷ From the people of Gershon [6:1], there were Ladan and Shimei.

⁸ Ladan had three sons. His first son was Jehiel, and his other sons were Zetham and Joel.

⁹ Shimei’s sons were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These three sons were leaders of Ladan’s ·families [clans]. ¹⁰ Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Ziza,^[a] Jeush, and Beriah. ¹¹ Jahath was the ·first son [eldest; chief; family leader], and Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many children, so they were counted as if they were one family, with one ·assignment [responsibility].

The People of Kohath

¹² Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹³ Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were ·chosen to be special [set apart] forever. They were chosen to ·prepare [dedicate; sanctify] the holy things, to ·offer sacrifices [burn incense] before the Lord, and to ·serve [minister to] him. They were to ·give [pronounce] blessings in his name forever.

¹⁴ Moses was the man of God, and his sons were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ Moses’ sons were Gershom [Judg. 18:30] and Eliezer. ¹⁶ Gershom’s ·first [oldest; chief] son was Shubael. ¹⁷ Eliezer’s ·first [oldest; chief] son was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.

¹⁸ Izhar’s ·first [oldest; chief] son was Shelomith.

¹⁹ Hebron’s ·first [oldest; chief] son was Jeriah, his second was Amariah, his third was Jahaziel, and his fourth was Jekameam.

²⁰ Uzziel’s ·first [oldest; chief] son was Micah and his second was Isshiah.

The People of Merari

²¹ Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died without sons; he had only daughters. Eleazar’s daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. ²³ Mushi’s three sons were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

The Levites’ Work

²⁴ These were Levi’s descendants listed by ·their families [clans]. They were the leaders of families. Each person who was twenty years old or older was ·listed [counted]. They served in the Lord’s ·Temple [^Lhouse].

²⁵ David had said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given ·rest [peace] to his people. He ·has come to live [dwells] in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ So the Levites don’t need to carry the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] or any of the ·things [articles; objects] used in its services anymore.” ²⁷ David’s ·last [final] instructions were to count the Levites who were twenty years old and older.

²⁸ The Levites had the ·job [duty; office] of ·helping [assisting] Aaron’s descendants in the service of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. They cared for the ·Temple [^Lhouse] ·courtyard [courts] and side rooms, and they ·made all the holy things pure [ceremonially purified all holy/sacred things]. Their job was to serve in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God. ²⁹ They were ·responsible for [in charge of] putting the ·holy bread [^Tshowbread] on the table, for the choice flour in the grain offerings, for the ·bread made without yeast [unleaven bread/wafers], for the ·baking and mixing [or the round cakes], and for the measuring of quantity or size. ³⁰ The Levites also stood every morning and gave thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this every evening. ³¹ The Levites offered all the burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord on the ·special days of rest [sabbaths], at the New Moon festivals [Num. 10:10; 29:6; 1 Sam. 20:5; 2 Kin. 4:23; Ezra 3:5; Ps. 81:3; Is. 1:13; Amos 8:5], and at all appointed feasts. They served before the Lord ·every day [continually]. They were to follow the rules for how many Levites should serve each time. ³² So the Levites ·took care [were in charge] of the ·Meeting Tent [Tabernacle] and the ·Holy Place [sanctuary]. And they helped their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, with the services at the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord.