Beginning
22 David said, “The Temple of the Lord God will be built here. And the altar for burnt offerings for Israel will be built here.”
David Makes Plans for the Temple
2 So David gave an order for all foreigners living in Israel to be gathered together. From that group David chose stonecutters. Their job was to cut stones to be used in building the Temple of God. 3 David supplied a large amount of iron. It was used for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed. 4 And he supplied more cedar logs than could be counted. Much of the cedar had been brought to David by the people from Sidon and Tyre.
5 David said, “We should build a great Temple for the Lord. It should be famous everywhere for its greatness and beauty. But my son Solomon is young. He hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know. So I will prepare for the building of it.” So David got many of the materials ready before he died.
6 Then David called for his son Solomon. He told Solomon to build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God. 8 But the Lord spoke his word to me, ‘David, you have killed too many people. You have fought too many wars. So you cannot build a temple for worship to me. You have killed too many people. 9 But, you will have a son. He will be a man of peace and rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies around him. His name will be Solomon.[a] And I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king. 10 Solomon will build a temple for worship to me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong. Someone from his family will rule Israel forever.’”
11 David also said, “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you. May you build a temple for the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 The Lord will make you the king of Israel. May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding. Then you will be able to obey the teachings of the Lord your God. 13 Be careful to obey the rules and laws the Lord gave Moses for Israel. If you obey them, you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.
14 “Solomon, I have worked hard getting many of the materials for building the Temple of the Lord. I have supplied about seven and a half million pounds of gold. And I have supplied about seventy-five million pounds of silver. I have supplied so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed. And I have supplied wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen. You have stonecutters, stoneworkers and carpenters. You have men skilled in every kind of work. 16 They are skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze and iron. You have more craftsmen than can be counted. Now begin the work. And may the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 David said to them, “The Lord your God is with you. He has given you rest from our enemies. He helped me to defeat the people living around us. The Lord and his people are in control of this land. 19 Now give yourself completely to obeying the Lord your God. Build the holy place of the Lord God. Build the Temple for worship to the Lord. Then bring the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord into the Temple. And bring in the holy things that belong to God.”
The Levites
23 David had lived long and was old. Then he made his son Solomon the new king of Israel. 2 David gathered all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and Levites. 3 David counted the Levites who were 30 years old and older. In all, there were 38,000 Levites. 4 David said, “Of these, 24,000 Levites will direct the work of the Temple of the Lord. And 6,000 Levites will be officers and judges. 5 And 4,000 Levites will be gatekeepers. And 4,000 Levites will praise the Lord with musical instruments. I made these instruments for them to use for praise.”
6 David separated the Levites into three groups. These groups were led by Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
The People of Gershon
7 From the people of Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.
8 Ladan had three sons. His first son was Jehiel. His other sons were Zetham and Joel.
9 Shimei’s sons were Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran. These three sons were leaders of Ladan’s families. 10 Shimei had four sons. They were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. 11 Jahath was the first son, and Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many children. So they were counted as if they were one family.
The People of Kohath
12 Kohath had four sons. They were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
13 Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen to be special forever. They were chosen to prepare the holy things for the Lord’s service. They were to offer sacrifices before the Lord. They were to serve him as priests. They were to give blessings in the Lord’s name forever.
14 Moses was the man of God. Moses’ sons were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. 15 Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer. 16 Gershom’s first son was Shubael. 17 Eliezer’s first son was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.
18 Izhar’s first son was Shelomith.
19 Hebron’s first son was Jeriah. His second son was Amariah. Jahaziel was the third son. And Jekameam was the fourth son.
20 Uzziel’s first son was Micah. And Isshiah was his second son.
The People of Merari
21 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar died without having sons. He had only daughters. Eleazar’s daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. 23 Mushi’s three sons were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.
The Levites’ Work
24 These were Levi’s descendants listed by their families. They were the leaders of families. Each person who was 20 years old or older was listed. They served in the Lord’s Temple.
25 David had said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He has given rest to his people. He has come to live in Jerusalem forever. 26 So the Levites don’t need to carry the Holy Tent. They don’t need to carry any of the things used in its services anymore.” 27 David’s last instructions were to count the Levites. All who were 20 years old and older were counted.
28 The Levites had the job of helping Aaron’s descendants. They helped in the service of the Temple of the Lord. They cared for the Temple courtyard and side rooms. They had the job of making all the holy things pure. Their job was to serve in the Temple of God. 29 They were responsible for putting the holy bread on the table. They also were responsible for the flour in the grain offerings. And they were responsible for the bread made without yeast. They were also responsible for the baking and mixing. And they did all the measuring. 30 The Levites also stood every morning and gave thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this every evening. 31 The Levites offered all the burnt offerings to the Lord on the special days of rest. And they offered them at the New Moon festivals and at all appointed feasts. They served before the Lord every day. They were to follow the rules for how many Levites should serve each time. 32 So the Levites took care of the Meeting Tent. They also took care of the Holy Place. And they helped their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, with the services at the Temple of the Lord.
The Groups of the Priests
24 These were the groups of Aaron’s sons:
Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did. And they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. 3 David separated the family groups of Eleazar and Ithamar into two different groups. Each group had certain duties it had been given. Zadok and Ahimelech helped David. Zadok was a descendant of Eleazar. And Ahimelech was a descendant of Ithamar. 4 There were more leaders from Eleazar’s family than from Ithamar’s. There were 16 leaders from Eleazar’s family. And there were 8 leaders from Ithamar’s family. 5 Men were chosen from Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s families by throwing lots. Some men from each family were chosen to be in charge of the Holy Place. And some men from each family were chosen to serve as priests.
6 Shemaiah son of Nethanel was the secretary. He was from the tribe of Levi. Shemaiah recorded the names of those descendants in front of King David and these officers: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the leaders of the families of the priests and Levites. The work was divided by lots among the families of Eleazar and Ithamar. The following men with their groups were chosen.
7 The first one chosen was Jehoiarib. The second was Jedaiah. 8 The third was Harim. The fourth was Seorim. 9 The fifth was Malkijah. The sixth was Mijamin. 10 The seventh was Hakkoz. The eighth was Abijah. 11 The ninth was Jeshua. The tenth was Shecaniah. 12 The eleventh was Eliashib. The twelfth was Jakim. 13 The thirteenth was Huppah. The fourteenth was Jeshebeab. 14 The fifteenth was Bilgah. The sixteenth was Immer. 15 The seventeenth was Hezir. The eighteenth was Happizzez. 16 The nineteenth was Pethahiah. The twentieth was Jehezkel. 17 The twenty-first was Jakin. The twenty-second was Gamul. 18 The twenty-third was Delaiah. The twenty-fourth was Maaziah.
19 These were the groups chosen to serve in the Temple of the Lord. They obeyed the rules Aaron had given them. The Lord, the God of Israel, had given those rules to Aaron.
The Other Levites
20 These are the names of the rest of Levi’s descendants:
Shubael was a descendant of Amram. And Jehdeiah was a descendant of Shubael.
21 Isshiah was the first son of Rehabiah.
22 From the Izhar family group, there was Shelomoth. And Jahath was a descendant of Shelomoth.
23 Hebron’s first son was Jeriah. Amariah was his second son. Jahaziel was his third son, and Jekameam was his fourth.
24 Uzziel’s son was Micah. Micah’s son was Shamir. 25 Isshiah was Micah’s brother. Isshiah’s son was Zechariah.
26 Merari’s descendants were Mahli and Mushi. Merari’s son was Jaaziah. 27 Jaaziah son of Merari had sons named Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri. 28 Mahli’s son was Eleazar. But Eleazar did not have any sons.
29 Kish’s son was Jerahmeel.
30 Mushi’s sons were Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth.
These are the Levites, listed by their families. 31 They were chosen for special jobs by throwing lots. They did this just as their relatives, the priests, had done. The priests were Aaron’s descendants. They threw lots in front of King David, Zadok and Ahimelech. The leaders of the families of the priests and Levites were also there. The families of the oldest brother and the youngest brother were treated the same.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.