1 Chronicles 23
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
23 And David being old and full of days, made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, and the priests and Levites.
3 And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years, and upwards: and there were found of them thirty-eight thousand men.
4 Of these twenty-four thousand were chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers and judges.
5 Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instruments, which he had made to sing with.
6 And David distributed them into courses by the families of the sons of Levi, to wit, of Gerson, and of Caath, and of Merari.
7 The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semei.
8 The sons of Leedan: the chief Jahiel, and Zethan, and Joel, three.
9 The sons of Semei: Salomith, and Hosiel, and Aran, three: these were the heads of the families of Leedan.
10 And the sons of Semei were Leheth, and Ziza, and Jaus, and Baria: these were the sons of Semei, four.
11 And Leheth was the first, Ziza the second: but Jaus and Baria had not many children, and therefore they were counted in one family, and in one house.
12 The sons of Caath were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Oziel, four.
13 The sons of Amram, Aaron, and Moses. And Aaron was separated to minister in the holy of holies, he and his sons for ever, and to burn incense before the Lord, according to his ceremonies, and to bless his name for ever.
14 The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were Gersom and Eliezer:
16 The sons of Gersom: Subuel the first.
17 And the sons of Eliezer were: Rohobia the first: and Eliezer had no more sons. But the sons of Rohobia were multiplied exceedingly.
18 The sons of Isaar: Salomith the first.
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriau the first, Amarias the second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam the fourth.
20 The sons of Oziel: Micha the first, Jesia the second.
21 The sons of Merari: Moholi, and Musi. The sons of Moholi: Eleazar and Cia.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons but daughters: and the sons of Cis their brethren took them.
23 The sons of Musi: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.
24 These are the sons of Levi in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, and the number of every head that did the works of the ministry of the house of the Lord from twenty years old and upward.
25 For David said: The Lord the God of Israel hath given rest to his people, and a habitation in Jerusalem for ever.
26 And it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the service thereof.
27 So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered from twenty years old and upward.
28 And they are to be under the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the porches, and in the chambers, and in the place of purification, and in the sanctuary, and in all the works of the ministry of the temple of the Lord.
29 And the priests have the charge of the leaves of proposition, and of the sacrifice of fine flour, and of the unleavened cakes, and of the fryingpan, and of the roasting, and of every weight and measure.
30 And the Levites are to stand in the morning to give thanks, and to sing praises to the Lord: and in like manner in the evening,
31 As well in the oblation of the holocausts of the Lord, as in the sabbaths and in the new moons, and the rest of the solemnities, according to the number and ceremonies prescribed for every thing, continually before the Lord.
32 And let them keep the observances of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ceremonies of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, that they may minister in the house of the Lord.
1 Chronicles 23
Contemporary English Version
David Assigns the Levites Their Duties
23 (A) David was old when he chose his son Solomon to be king of Israel. 2 Some time later, David called together all of Israel's leaders, priests, and Levites. 3 He then counted the Levite men who were at least 30 years old, and the total was 38,000. 4 He said, “Twenty-four thousand of the Levites will be in charge of the temple, 6,000 will be temple officials and judges, 5 4,000 will be guards at the temple, and 4,000 will praise the Lord by playing the musical instruments I have given them.”
6 David then divided the Levites into three groups according to the clans of Levi's sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. 8 Ladan was the father of Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel. 9 They were all family leaders among their father's descendants. Shimei was the father of Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. 10-11 Later, Shimei had four more sons, in the following order: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. But Jeush and Beriah didn't have many children, so their descendants were counted as one family.
12 Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 (B) Amram was the father of Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen to be in charge of all the sacred things. They served the Lord by offering sacrifices to him and by blessing the people in his name. 14-15 Moses, the man of God, was the father of Gershom and Eliezer, and their descendants were considered Levites. 16 Gershom's oldest son was Shebuel. 17 Rehabiah, who was Eliezer's only son, had many children. 18 The second son born to Kohath was Izhar, and his oldest son was Shelomith. 19 Hebron, the third son of Kohath, was the father of Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. 20 Kohath's youngest son, Uzziel, was the father of Micah and Isshiah.
21 Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. Mahli was the father of Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar had no sons, only daughters, and they married their uncle's sons. 23 Mushi the second son of Merari, was the father of Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
24 These were the clans and families of the tribe of Levi. Those who were 20 years and older were assigned to work at the Lord's temple.
25 David said:
The Lord God of Israel has given his people peace, and he will live in Jerusalem forever. 26 (C) And so, the Levites won't need to move the sacred tent and the things used for worship from place to place. 27 From now on, all Levites at least 20 years old 28 (D) will serve the Lord by helping Aaron's descendants do their work at the temple, by keeping the courtyards and rooms of the temple clean, and by making sure that everything used in worship stays pure. 29 They will also be in charge of the sacred loaves of bread, the flour for the grain sacrifices, the thin wafers, any offerings to be baked, and the flour mixed with olive oil. These Levites will weigh and measure these offerings.
30 Every morning and evening, the Levites are to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to him. 31 They must also give thanks and sing praises when sacrifices are offered on each Sabbath, as well as during New Moon Festivals and other religious feasts. There must always be enough Levites on duty at the temple to do everything that needs to be done. 32 They were once in charge of taking care of the sacred tent; now they are responsible for the temple and for helping Aaron's descendants.
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