Beginning

22 Then David said, “This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

² David gave orders to gather together the foreigners who were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to cut dressed stones to build God’s house. ³ David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates and for the couplings, and bronze in abundance without weight, ⁴ and cedar trees without number, for the Sidonians and the people of Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to David. ⁵ David said, “Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David prepared abundantly before his death. ⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon his son, “As for me, it was in my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. ⁸ But Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, ‘You have shed blood abundantly and have made great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. ⁹ Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ He shall build a house for my name; and he will be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and prosper you, and build the house of Yahweh your God, as he has spoken concerning you. ¹² May Yahweh give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel, so that you may keep the law of Yahweh your God. ¹³ Then you will prosper, if you observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Yahweh gave Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid and don’t be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for Yahweh’s house one hundred thousand talents^[a] of gold, one million talents^[b] of silver, and bronze and iron without weight; for it is in abundance. I have also prepared timber and stone; and you may add to them. ¹⁵ There are also workmen with you in abundance—cutters and workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of men who are skillful in every kind of work; ¹⁶ of the gold, the silver, the bronze, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and may Yahweh be with you.”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Isn’t Yahweh your God with you? Hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Yahweh and before his people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and your soul to follow Yahweh your God. Arise therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, to bring the ark of Yahweh’s covenant and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for Yahweh’s name.”

23 Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ² He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³ The Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh’s house, six thousand were officers and judges, ⁵ four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”

⁶ David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷ Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. ¹⁰ The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons; therefore they became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.

¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³ The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name forever. ¹⁴ But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷ The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰ The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only; and their relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

²⁴ These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of Yahweh’s house, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵ For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.” ²⁷ For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁸ For their duty was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house—in the courts, in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house; ²⁹ for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size; ³⁰ and to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh, and likewise in the evening; ³¹ and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh; ³² and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers for the service of Yahweh’s house.

24 These were the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ³ David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service. ⁴ There were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and they were divided like this: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight. ⁵ Thus they were divided impartially by drawing lots; for there were princes of the sanctuary and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. ⁶ Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one fathers’ house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.

⁷ Now the first lot came out to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸ the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹ the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹ This was their ordering in their service, to come into Yahweh’s house according to the ordinance given to them by Aaron their father, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

²⁰ Of the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. ²¹ Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief. ²² Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. ²³ The sons of Hebron: Jeriah, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴ The sons of Uzziel: Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. ²⁵ The brother of Micah: Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ²⁶ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno. ²⁷ The sons of Merari by Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸ Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹ Of Kish, the son of Kish: Jerahmeel. ³⁰ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after their fathers’ houses. ³¹ These likewise cast lots even as their brothers the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites, the fathers’ households of the chief even as those of his younger brother.