¹⁸ And they installed the priests in their divisions^(A) and the Levites in their groups^(B) for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.^(C)

⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi^(A) and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.^(B)

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

⁵ “Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people.

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)

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)

Kohathites

¹² The sons of Kohath:^(N)

Merarites

²¹ The sons of Merari:^(Y)

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)

⁹ Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting^(A) and assemble the whole Israelite community.^{(B) 10} You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.^{(C) 11} Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering^(D) from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.

¹² “Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls,^(E) using one for a sin offering^(F) to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering,^(G) to make atonement^(H) for the Levites. ¹³ Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering^(I) to the Lord. ¹⁴ In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.^(J)

¹⁵ “After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering,^(K) they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting.^{(L) 16} They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn,^(M) the first male offspring^(N) from every Israelite woman. ¹⁷ Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal,^(O) is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.^{(P) 18} And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.^{(Q) 19} From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons^(R) to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites^(S) and to make atonement for them^(T) so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

²⁰ Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. ²¹ The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes.^(U) Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement^(V) for them to purify them.^{(W) 22} After that, the Levites came to do their work^(X) at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more^(Y) shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting,^{(Z) 25} but at the age of fifty,^(AA) they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work.^(AB) This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”