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David Organizes the Levites

23 When David was old and approaching the end of his life,[a] he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

David[b] assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men.[c] David said,[d] “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.”[e] David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.

The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all.

These were the leaders of the family of Ladan.

10 The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina,[f] Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei’s sons—four in all.[g] 11 Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility.

12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses.

Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the most holy items, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to serve him, and to praise his name.[h] 14 The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites.[i]

15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The son[j] of Gershom: Shebuel[k] the oldest.

17 The son of Eliezer was[l] Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

18 The son[m] of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest.

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

20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

22 Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them.[n]

23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

24 These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple and were twenty years old and up.[o] 25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. 26 So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service.” 27 According to David’s final instructions, the Levites twenty years old or older were counted.[p]

28 Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple.[q] 29 They also took care of[r] the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring.[s] 30 They also stood in a designated place[t] every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening 31 and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations.[u] 32 They were in charge of the meeting tent and the Holy Place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.[v]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:1 tn Heb “and full of years.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 23:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. 1 Chronicles 23:3 tn Heb “and their number by their heads, by men, was 38,000.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 23:4 tn The words “David said” are supplied here in the translation for clarification. The appearance of the first person verb “I supplied” in v. 5 indicates that David is speaking here.
  5. 1 Chronicles 23:5 tn Heb “made to [or “for”] praise.”
  6. 1 Chronicles 23:10 tc The MT reads “Zina” here and “Zizah” in v. 11. One Hebrew ms, the LXX, and the Vulgate, harmonizing the form of the name to that found in v. 11, read “Zizah” here.
  7. 1 Chronicles 23:10 sn Verses 8-10 are confusing. Two different lists of Shimei’s sons appear. In between these lists is the statement “these were the leaders of the family of Ladan,” suggesting that the list just before this includes the sons of Ladan, not Shimei. But verse 8 already lists Ladan’s sons. Apparently the text as it stands is a conflation of differing traditions.
  8. 1 Chronicles 23:13 tn Heb “and Aaron was set apart to consecrate it, the most holy things, he and his sons, permanently, to sacrifice before the Lord, to serve him, and to bless his name permanently.”
  9. 1 Chronicles 23:14 tn Heb “and Moses the man of God, his sons were called to the tribe of Levi.”
  10. 1 Chronicles 23:16 tn The Hebrew text has the plural “sons,” but only one name appears after this. The attached phrase “the oldest” might indicate that Shebuel was not Gershom’s only son, but note v. 17.
  11. 1 Chronicles 23:16 tc The LXX reads Σουβαηλ (Soubaēl) here, a reading followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV (“Shubael”); cf. 24:20.
  12. 1 Chronicles 23:17 tn The Hebrew text has “the sons of Eliezer were,” but only one name appears after this in the verse, and we are specifically told that Eliezer had no other sons.
  13. 1 Chronicles 23:18 tn The Hebrew text has the plural “sons,” but only one name appears after this. The attached phrase “the oldest” might indicate that Shelomith was not Izhar’s only son, but note v. 17.
  14. 1 Chronicles 23:22 tn Heb “the sons of Kish, their brothers [i.e., relatives/cousins] lifted them up.” For other uses of נָאָשׂ (naʾas, “lift up”) in the sense of “marry,” see BDB 671 s.v. Qal.3.d.
  15. 1 Chronicles 23:24 tn Heb “these were the sons of Levi according to the house of their fathers, heads of the fathers, according to their numberings, by number of names, according to their heads, doer[s] of the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from a son of twenty years and upwards.”
  16. 1 Chronicles 23:27 tn Heb “for by the final words of David, they were the number of the sons of Levi, from a son of twenty years and upward.”
  17. 1 Chronicles 23:28 tn Heb “For their assignment was at the hand of the sons of Aaron for the work of the house of the Lord concerning the courtyards and concerning the rooms and concerning the purification of all holiness and the work of the service of the house of God.”
  18. 1 Chronicles 23:29 tn Heb “with respect to.”
  19. 1 Chronicles 23:29 tn The Hebrew terms מְשׂוּרָה (mesurah) and מִדָּה (middah) refer to different types of measurements.
  20. 1 Chronicles 23:30 tn Heb “and to stand.”
  21. 1 Chronicles 23:31 tn Heb “by number according to the manner upon them, regularly before the Lord.”
  22. 1 Chronicles 23:32 tn Heb “and they kept the charge of the tent of meeting and the charge of the holy place and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of the house of the Lord.”

23 Now David was old and full of days; and 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 thirty years old and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and judges; and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. And David divided them into [a]courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Of the Gershonites: [b]Ladan and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, [c]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 became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.

12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, [d]that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, for ever, to burn incense before Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, for ever. 14 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: [e]Shebuel the chief. 17 And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The sons of Izhar: [f]Shelomith the chief. 19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah 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 only: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them to wife. 23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24 These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those of them that were counted, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath given rest unto his people; and he dwelleth in Jerusalem for ever: 26 and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the service thereof. 27 For [g]by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered, from twenty years old and upward. 28 For [h]their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God; 29 for the showbread also, and for the fine flour for a meal-offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all manner of measure and size; 30 and to stand every morning to thank and praise Jehovah, and likewise at even; 31 and to offer all burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Jehovah; 32 and that they should keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, for the service of the house of Jehovah.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:6 Hebrew divisions.
  2. 1 Chronicles 23:7 In 6:17, Libni.
  3. 1 Chronicles 23:10 In verse 11, Zizah.
  4. 1 Chronicles 23:13 Or, to sanctify as most holy him etc.
  5. 1 Chronicles 23:16 In 24:20, Shubael.
  6. 1 Chronicles 23:18 In 24:22, Shelomoth.
  7. 1 Chronicles 23:27 Or, in the last acts
  8. 1 Chronicles 23:28 Hebrew their station was at the hand of the sons of Aaron. See Neh. 11:24.