¹⁸ Jehoiada now put the priests and Levites in charge of the Temple of the Lord, following all the directions given by David. He also commanded them to present burnt offerings to the Lord, as prescribed by the Law of Moses, and to sing and rejoice as David had instructed.

⁵ The priests and Levites brought up the Ark along with the special tent^[a] and all the sacred items that had been in it.

The Daily Offerings

28 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give these instructions to the people of Israel: The offerings you present as special gifts are a pleasing aroma to me; they are my food. See to it that they are brought at the appointed times and offered according to my instructions.

³ “Say to the people: This is the special gift you must present to the Lord as your daily burnt offering. You must offer two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. ⁴ Sacrifice one lamb in the morning and the other in the evening. ⁵ With each lamb you must offer a grain offering of two quarts^[a] of choice flour mixed with one quart^[b] of pure oil of pressed olives. ⁶ This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ⁷ Along with it you must present the proper liquid offering of one quart of alcoholic drink with each lamb, poured out in the Holy Place as an offering to the Lord. ⁸ Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and liquid offering. It, too, is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

The Sabbath Offerings

⁹ “On the Sabbath day, sacrifice two one-year-old male lambs with no defects. They must be accompanied by a grain offering of four quarts^[c] of choice flour moistened with olive oil, and a liquid offering. ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering to be presented each Sabbath day, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

The Monthly Offerings

¹¹ “On the first day of each month, present an extra burnt offering to the Lord of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ¹² These must be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts^[d] with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ¹³ and two quarts with each lamb. This burnt offering will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁴ You must also present a liquid offering with each sacrifice: two quarts^[e] of wine for each bull, a third of a gallon^[f] for the ram, and one quart^[g] for each lamb. Present this monthly burnt offering on the first day of each month throughout the year.

¹⁵ “On the first day of each month, you must also offer one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord. This is in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying liquid offering.

Offerings for the Passover

¹⁶ “On the fourteenth day of the first month,^[h] you must celebrate the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the following day—the fifteenth day of the month—a joyous, seven-day festival will begin, but no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ¹⁸ The first day of the festival will be an official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day. ¹⁹ As a special gift you must present a burnt offering to the Lord—two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all with no defects. ²⁰ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²¹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ²² You must also offer a male goat as a sin offering to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord.^{[i] 23} Present these offerings in addition to your regular morning burnt offering. ²⁴ On each of the seven days of the festival, this is how you must prepare the food offering that is presented as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These will be offered in addition to the regular burnt offerings and liquid offerings. ²⁵ The seventh day of the festival will be another official day for holy assembly, and no ordinary work may be done on that day.

Offerings for the Festival of Harvest

²⁶ “At the Festival of Harvest,^[j] when you present the first of your new grain to the Lord, you must call an official day for holy assembly, and you may do no ordinary work on that day. ²⁷ Present a special burnt offering on that day as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It will consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs. ²⁸ These will be accompanied by grain offerings of choice flour moistened with olive oil—six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram, ²⁹ and two quarts with each of the seven lambs. ³⁰ Also, offer one male goat to purify yourselves and make yourselves right with the Lord. ³¹ Prepare these special burnt offerings, along with their liquid offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its accompanying grain offering. Be sure that all the animals you sacrifice have no defects.

²⁵ King Hezekiah then stationed the Levites at the Temple of the Lord with cymbals, lyres, and harps. He obeyed all the commands that the Lord had given to King David through Gad, the king’s seer, and the prophet Nathan.

Duties of the Musicians

25 David and the army commanders then appointed men from the families of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to proclaim God’s messages to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. Here is a list of their names and their work:

² From the sons of Asaph, there were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. They worked under the direction of their father, Asaph, who proclaimed God’s messages by the king’s orders.

³ From the sons of Jeduthun, there were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,^[a] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six in all. They worked under the direction of their father, Jeduthun, who proclaimed God’s messages to the accompaniment of the lyre, offering thanks and praise to the Lord.

⁴ From the sons of Heman, there were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael,^[b] Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, for God had honored him with fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶ All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. ⁷ They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them—288 in all—was an accomplished musician. ⁸ The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student.

²⁸ The work of the Levites was to assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the house of the Lord. They also took care of the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in many other ways in the house of God. ²⁹ They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures. ³⁰ And each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing songs of thanks and praise to him. ³¹ They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the Lord on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the Lord’s presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given.

Duties of the Levites

23 When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel. ² David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. ³ All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000. ⁴ Then David said, “From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the Lord. Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges. ⁵ Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have made.” ⁶ Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

⁷ The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni^[a] and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. ⁸ Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. ⁹ These were the leaders of the family of Libni.

Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. ¹⁰ Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza,^[b] Jeush, and Beriah. ¹¹ Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.

The Kohathites

¹² Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹³ The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, to serve the Lord, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

¹⁸ The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader.

¹⁹ The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).

²⁰ The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).

The Merarites

²¹ The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.

²³ Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the Lord.