Chronological
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 Music Groups
25 David and the commanders of the army chose some men to preach. They chose some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. They were to preach God’s message and play harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is a list of the men who served in this way:
2 Asaph’s sons who served were Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. King David chose Asaph to preach. And Asaph directed his sons.
3 Jeduthun’s sons who served were Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah. There were six of them, and Jeduthun directed them. He preached. And he used a harp to give thanks and praise to the Lord.
4 Heman’s sons who served were Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth. There were also Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer. And there were Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. 5 All these men were sons of Heman, David’s seer. God promised to make Heman strong. So Heman had many sons. God gave him 14 sons and 3 daughters. 6 Heman directed all his sons in making music for the Temple of the Lord. They used cymbals, lyres and harps. That was their way of serving in the Temple of God. And King David was in charge of Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman. 7 These men and their relatives from the Levites were trained in music. They were skilled in making music for the Lord. There were 288 of them. 8 Everyone threw lots to choose the time his family was to serve at the Temple. The young and the old had to throw lots. The teacher and the student had to throw lots.
9 First, 12 men were chosen from Joseph, his sons and relatives. Joseph was from the family of Asaph.
Second, 12 men were chosen from Gedaliah, his sons and relatives.
10 Third, 12 men were chosen from Zaccur, his sons and relatives.
11 Fourth, 12 men were chosen from Izri, his sons and relatives.
12 Fifth, 12 men were chosen from Nethaniah, his sons and relatives.
13 Sixth, 12 men were chosen from Bukkiah, his sons and relatives.
14 Seventh, 12 men were chosen from Jesarelah, his sons and relatives.
15 Eighth, 12 men were chosen from Jeshaiah, his sons and relatives.
16 Ninth, 12 men were chosen from Mattaniah, his sons and relatives.
17 Tenth, 12 men were chosen from Shimei, his sons and relatives.
18 Eleventh, 12 men were chosen from Azarel, his sons and relatives.
19 Twelfth, 12 men were chosen from Hashabiah, his sons and relatives.
20 Thirteenth, 12 men were chosen from Shubael, his sons and relatives.
21 Fourteenth, 12 men were chosen from Mattithiah, his sons and relatives.
22 Fifteenth, 12 men were chosen from Jerimoth, his sons and relatives.
23 Sixteenth, 12 men were chosen from Hananiah, his sons and relatives.
24 Seventeenth, 12 men were chosen from Joshbekashah, his sons and relatives.
25 Eighteenth, 12 men were chosen from Hanani, his sons and relatives.
26 Nineteenth, 12 men were chosen from Mallothi, his sons and relatives.
27 Twentieth, 12 men were chosen from Eliathah, his sons and relatives.
28 Twenty-first, 12 men were chosen from Hothir, his sons and relatives.
29 Twenty-second, 12 men were chosen from Giddalti, his sons and relatives.
30 Twenty-third, 12 men were chosen from Mahazioth, his sons and relatives.
31 Twenty-fourth, 12 men were chosen from Romamti-Ezer, his sons and relatives.
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