¹¹ The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.^(A)

⁵ When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified.^(A) Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering^(B) for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned^(C) and cursed God^(D) in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

⁴ Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions,^(A) according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

¹⁷ Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill^(A) the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs^[a] to the Lord. ¹⁸ Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,^(B) yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone ¹⁹ who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the Lord heard^(C) Hezekiah and healed^(D) the people.^(E)

⁵ and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate^(A) yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.

¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated^(A) themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord.

³⁴ The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings;^(A) so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated,^(B) for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been.

¹⁵ When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify^(A) the temple of the Lord, as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord.

The Divisions of Priests

24 These were the divisions^(A) of the descendants of Aaron:^(B)

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.^{(C) 2} But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did,^(D) and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. ³ With the help of Zadok^(E) a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. ⁴ A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. ⁵ They divided them impartially by casting lots,^(F) for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁶ The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek^(G) son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

¹⁹ This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

²⁰ As for the rest of the descendants of Levi:^(M)

These were the Levites, according to their families. ³¹ They also cast lots,^(Q) just as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelek, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.