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1 Chronicles 23
Common English Bible
1 Chronicles 23
Common English Bible
David appoints the Levites
23 When David had grown old after a long life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 He then gathered together all Israel’s leaders along with the priests and the Levites. 3 When the Levites were counted, the head count of every male 30 and older totaled 38,000. 4 Of these, there were 24,000 to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 officers and judges, 5 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 praising the Lord with instruments made[a] for offering praise. 6 Then David divided them into three groups named after Levi’s family members: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Gershonites
7 The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei.
8 Ladan’s family: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all. 9 Jehiel’s[b] family: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the households of Ladan.
10 Shimei’s family: Jahath, Ziza,[c] Jeush, and Beriah. These four were Shimei’s family: 11 Jahath was the first, and Ziza the second; since Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many children, they became a single household.
Kohathites
12 Kohath’s family: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
13 Amram’s family: Aaron and Moses. Aaron, together with his sons, was set apart to make the holiest objects holy, to make offerings before the Lord, to serve him, and to give blessings in his name forever.
14 As for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites. 15 Moses’ family: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 Gershom’s family: Shebuel the first.
17 Eliezer’s family: Rehabiah the first; Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many children.
18 Izhar’s family: Shelomoth[d] the first.
19 Hebron’s family: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 Uzziel’s family: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
Merarites
21 Merari’s family: Mahli and Mushi.
Mahli’s family: Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without sons, but he did have daughters who married their relatives from Kish’s family.
23 Mushi’s family: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
24 These were the members of Levi’s family according to their households. The household heads were registered, along with a listing of the names of each person 20 years old and above who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple.
Levites’ duties
25 David said, “Since the Lord, Israel’s God, has given his people peace and has made his home in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites need no longer carry the dwelling or any of the equipment used in its service.” 27 David’s last instructions were to count the Levites 20 years old and above. 28 Their assignment was to be at the side of the Aaronites to serve in the Lord’s temple, maintaining the courtyards and side rooms and cleansing all of the holy objects and doing whatever was needed in the service of God’s temple. 29 They were responsible for the stacks of bread, the fine flour for grain offerings, the wafers of unleavened bread, the cakes made on the griddle, the offering mixed with oil, as well as all the measuring. 30 They were to be present every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and to do the same every evening. 31 Whenever entirely burned offerings were offered to the Lord for the sabbaths, the new moons, and festivals, a designated number were to serve in the Lord’s presence continuously. 32 In this way they were to observe the instructions for the meeting tent, the instructions for the sanctuary, and the instructions for Aaron’s family and relatives about serving in the Lord’s temple.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 23:5 LXX, Vulg; MT I made
- 1 Chronicles 23:9 Cf 23:8, 10; MT Shimei’s
- 1 Chronicles 23:10 LXX; MT Zina
- 1 Chronicles 23:18 LXX, Syr, Aram; MT Shelomith
1 Chronicles 23
1599 Geneva Bible
1 Chronicles 23
1599 Geneva Bible
23 1 David being old, ordaineth Solomon King. 3 He causeth the Levites to be numbered, 4 and assigneth them to their offices. 13 Aaron and his sons are for the high Priest. 14 The sons of Moses.
1 So when David was old and full of days, (A)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 And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above, and their number according to their sum was eight and thirty thousand men.
4 Of these four and twenty thousand were set to [a]advance the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were overseers and judges.
5 And four thousand were porters, and four thousand praised the Lord with instruments which [b]he made to praise the Lord.
6 (B)So David divided offices unto them, to wit, to the sons of Levi, to (C)Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites were [c]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 fathers of Laadan.
10 Also the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah: these four were the sons of Shimei.
11 And Jahath was the chief, and [d]Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: therefore they were in the families of their father, counted but as one.
12 ¶ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel, four.
13 (D)The sons of Amram, Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated to [e]sanctify the most holy place, he and his sons forever to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to him, and to bless in his Name forever.
14 ¶ Moses also the man of God and his children were named with the [f]tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were Gershon, and Eliezer.
16 Of the sons of (E)Gershon was Shebuel the chief.
17 And the son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the [g]chief: for Eliezer had none other sons: but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 The son of Izhar was Shelomith the chief.
19 The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel were Michah the first, and Jesshiah the second.
21 ¶ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli, Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters, and their [h]brethren the sons of Kish took them.
23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
24 These were the sons of Levi according to the house of their fathers, even the chief fathers according to their offices, according to the number of names, and their sum that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord from the age of [i]twenty years and above.
25 For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever.
26 And also the Levites shall no more bear the Tabernacle and all the vessels for the service thereof.
27 Therefore according to the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from twenty years and above,
28 And their office was under the hand of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts, and chambers, and in the [j]purifying of all holy things, and in the work of the service of the house of God,
29 Both for the showbread, and for the fine flour, for the meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for the fried things, and for that which was roasted, and for all measures and size,
30 And for to stand every morning, to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise at even,
31 And to offer all burnt offerings unto the Lord in the Sabbaths, in the months, and at the appointed times, according to the number and according to their custom, 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.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 23:4 Or, to have care over.
- 1 Chronicles 23:5 Hebrew, I made, meaning David.
- 1 Chronicles 23:7 Or, Libni, 1 Chron. 6:17.
- 1 Chronicles 23:11 Or, Zina.
- 1 Chronicles 23:13 That is, to serve in the most holy place, and to consecrate the holy things.
- 1 Chronicles 23:14 They were but of the order of the Levites, and not of the Priests as Aaron’s sons.
- 1 Chronicles 23:17 The Scripture useth to call chief or the firstborn, although he be alone and there be none born after, Matt. 1:25.
- 1 Chronicles 23:22 Meaning, their cousins.
- 1 Chronicles 23:24 David did choose the Levites twice, first at the age of thirty, as verse 3 and again afterward at 20, as the necessity of the office did require: at the beginning they had no charge in the Temple, before they were five and twenty years old, and had none after fifty, Num. 4:3.
- 1 Chronicles 23:28 In washing and cleansing all the holy vessels.
1 Chronicles 23
New International Version
1 Chronicles 23
New International Version
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)
6 David separated(K) the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi:(L) Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Gershonites
7 Belonging to the Gershonites:(M)
Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan:
Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei:
Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.
These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Shimei:
Jahath, Ziza,[a] Jeush and Beriah.
These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.
11 Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.
Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath:(N)
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram:(O)
Aaron and Moses.
Aaron was set apart,(P) he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister(Q) before him and to pronounce blessings(R) in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man(S) of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses:
Gershom and Eliezer.(T)
16 The descendants of Gershom:(U)
Shubael was the first.
17 The descendants of Eliezer:
Rehabiah(V) was the first.
Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
18 The sons of Izhar:
Shelomith(W) was the first.
19 The sons of Hebron:(X)
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel:
Micah the first and Ishiah the second.
Merarites
21 The sons of Merari:(Y)
Mahli and Mushi.(Z)
The sons of Mahli:
Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.(AA)
23 The sons of Mushi:
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.
24 These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more(AB) who served in the temple of the Lord. 25 For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest(AC) to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.”(AD) 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.
28 The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification(AE) of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. 29 They were in charge of the bread set out on the table,(AF) the special flour for the grain offerings,(AG) the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.(AH) 30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening(AI) 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon(AJ) feasts and at the appointed festivals.(AK) They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.
32 And so the Levites(AL) carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting,(AM) for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.(AN)
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 23:10 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also verse 11); most Hebrew manuscripts Zina
1 Chronicles 23
Names of God Bible
1 Chronicles 23
Names of God Bible
The Levites Are Organized to Serve in the Temple
23 When David had grown old and had lived out his years, he made his son Solomon king of Israel. 2 He gathered all the officials of Israel and the priests and Levites. 3 Every male Levite who was at least 30 years old was counted. There were 38,000. 4 Of these, 24,000 were appointed to supervise the work on Yahweh’s temple, 6,000 were appointed to be officers and judges, 5 4,000 were appointed to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 were appointed to praise Yahweh with the instruments David had made for praising God. 6 David organized the Levites into divisions based on which of Levi’s sons (Gershon, Kohath, or Merari) they were descended from.
7 Ladan and Shimei were Gershon’s descendants. 8 Ladan had three sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel. 9 Shimei had three sons: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran. They were the heads of Ladan’s families. 10 Shimei’s sons were Jahath, Zina,[a] Jeush, and Beriah. They were Shimei’s four sons. 11 Jahath was the first, and Ziza was the second. Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons, so they were given an assignment as one family.
12 Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his sons were forever designated to dedicate the most holy things to God, to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, to serve him, and always give the blessing in his name. 14 The sons of Moses, the man of Elohim, were counted with the tribe of Levi. 15 Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer. 16 Gershom’s only son was Shebuel. 17 Eliezer’s only son was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons. 18 Izhar’s only son was Shelomith. 19 Hebron’s first son was Jeriah; his second was Amariah; his third was Jahaziel; his fourth was Jekameam. 20 Uzziel’s first son was Micah; his second was Isshiah.
21 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar died without having any sons. He only had daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. 23 Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
24 These were Levi’s descendants, who were grouped according to their families. The heads of their families were registered by name as they were counted. Everyone who served in Yahweh’s temple was at least 20 years old. 25 David had said, “Yahweh Elohim of Israel has given his people rest. He will now live in Jerusalem forever. 26 The Levites will no longer have to carry the tent and all the utensils used in worship.”
27 David’s last instructions were to count the Levites who were at least 20 years old. 28 They were appointed to stand beside Aaron’s descendants to serve in Yahweh’s temple. They were appointed to be in charge of the courtyards and the temple rooms, to ensure that all the holy things were clean,[b] and to serve in Elohim’s temple. 29 They were also responsible for the rows of bread, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread wafers, and the bread made in frying pans. In addition, they were responsible for mixing the ingredients and keeping track of all weights and measures. 30 They were appointed to stand to give thanks and praise to Yahweh every morning. They were appointed to do the same thing in the evening. 31 They were appointed to stand in front of Yahweh in the required numbers whenever burnt offerings were made—on weekly worship days, at New Moon Festivals, and on appointed annual festivals. 32 They were appointed to follow the regulations for the tent of meeting and the holy place and to help their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, as they served in Yahweh’s temple.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 23:10 Most Hebrew manuscripts; one Hebrew manuscript, Greek, Latin “Ziza” (see verse 11).
- 1 Chronicles 23:28 “Clean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is presentable to God.
Common English Bible (CEB)
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Names of God Bible (NOG)
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