The Levites

23 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon^(A) king over Israel.^(B)

² He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. ³ The Levites thirty years old or more^(C) were counted,^(D) and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.^{(E) 4} 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) 5} 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)

The Musicians

25 David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,^(A) Heman^(B) and Jeduthun^(C) for the ministry of prophesying,^(D) accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.^(E) Here is the list of the men^(F) who performed this service:^(G)

⁶ All these men were under the supervision of their father^(A) for the music of the temple of the Lord, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God.

Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman^(B) were under the supervision of the king.^{(C) 7} Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord—they numbered 288.