1 Chronicles 23
EasyEnglish Bible
Rules for the Levites
23 David was old and his life had nearly finished.[a] He chose his son Solomon to rule over Israel as king.
2 He brought together all Israel's leaders, as well as the priests and the Levites. 3 His officers counted all the Levites who were 30 years old or older. There were 38,000 men. 4 David said, ‘24,000 of these Levite men must have authority for the work of the Lord's temple. 6,000 of them will be officers and judges. 5 4,000 of them will be guards at the gates of the temple. 4,000 of them will use music to praise the Lord. They will use the musical instruments that I have provided for them.’
6 David made the Levites into three separate groups. Each group had descendants from one of Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
The group from Gershon's clan
7 From Gershon's clan there were Ladan and Shimei.
8 Ladan's three sons were: Jehiel, the firstborn, then Zetham and Joel.
9 Shimei's three sons were: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran.
Those men were the leaders of Ladan's family.
10 Shimei had four more sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah.
11 Jahath was the oldest son and Ziza was the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons. So the officers counted them together as one family.
The group from Kohath's clan
12 Kohath's four sons were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
13 Amram's sons were Aaron and Moses.
The Lord chose Aaron and his descendants for special work for all time. Their work was to offer special holy things to the Lord. They would offer sacrifices to the Lord. They would serve him in the temple. And they would use his name to bless the people.
14 The tribe of Levi included the sons of Moses, God's servant.[b]
15 Moses' sons were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Gershom's oldest son was Shebuel.
17 Eliezer's son was Rehabiah. He was the leader of the family. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
18 From the family of Kohath's second son Izhar, Shelomith was the leader.
19 Hebron had four sons: Jeriah was the leader, Amariah was second, Jahaziel was third and Jekameam was fourth.
20 Uzziel had two sons: Micah was the leader and Isshiah was second.
The group from Merari's clan
21 Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi.
Mahli's sons were Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without any sons. He had only daughters. Kish's sons, who were their cousins, married them.
23 Mushi's three sons were: Mahli, Eder and Jeremoth.
24 Those were the leaders of the Levites' clans, family by family. The Israelites carefully recorded the names of all the men who were 20 years old or older. From that age, they each had their work to do in the Lord's temple.
25 David had said, ‘Now the Lord, Israel's God, has given rest to his people. He has his home in Jerusalem for all time. 26 So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle to different places. They do not need to carry all the things that are used to serve God.’ 27 So David counted the Levites who were 20 years old or older and could work in the temple. Those were David's last words before he died.
The work of the Levites
28 The Levites' work was to help Aaron's descendants as they served the Lord in his temple. They took care of the temple's yards and its small rooms. They made the Lord's special things clean and holy. They did the work that was necessary to serve God in his temple. 29 They took care of the special bread for the table in the holy place. They kept the flour for the grain offerings, for the flat bread that they made without yeast and for the special cakes. They weighed and they measured all the things for the bread and the cakes. 30 Every morning they stood in their places to thank the Lord and to praise him. They did the same thing every evening. 31 They also did that when the priests offered burnt offerings to the Lord. That happened on Sabbath days, at New Moon festivals and on other special days. The correct number of Levites must be there to serve the Lord at all times, as the rules commanded. 32 In that way, the Levites had authority to take care of the special tent and the holy place. They helped their relatives, Aaron's descendants, as they served the Lord in his temple.[c]
1 Chronicles 23
King James Version
23 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.
4 Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges:
5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.
6 And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.
8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.
9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.
10 And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house.
12 The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
13 The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.
14 Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.
16 Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.
17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.
19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the first and Jesiah the second.
21 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.
23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
24 These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward.
25 For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:
26 And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.
27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:
28 Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;
29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;
30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even:
31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, 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.
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