² David^[a] assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. ³ The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men.^{[b] 4} David said,^[c] “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; ⁵ 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.”^{[d] 6} David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.