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David[a] assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men.[b] 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; 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.”[d] David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  2. 1 Chronicles 23:3 tn Heb “and their number by their heads, by men, was 38,000.”
  3. 1 Chronicles 23:4 tn The words “David said” are supplied here in the translation for clarification. The appearance of the first person verb “I supplied” in v. 5 indicates that David is speaking here.
  4. 1 Chronicles 23:5 tn Heb “made to [or “for”] praise.”

David then gathered together all of the leaders of Israel, including the priests and descendants of Levi. descendants of Levi 30 years old and above were counted for a total of 38,000. “24,000 of these,” David said, “are to be set in charge of the work of the Temple of the Lord, with 6,000 serving as officers and judges, with 4,000 gatekeepers, and with 4,000 offering praises to the Lord with the musical instruments that I have had crafted.”

David divided them into divisions based on Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, Levi’s sons.

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