1 Chronicles 23

David Appoints Solomon and Organizes the Levites

1David was old and full of days, and he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2He gathered all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3The Levites were counted from thirty years old and up; their number, counted man by man, came to thirty-eight thousand. 4Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh, six thousand were officers and judges, 5four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments that I made for praise.*

The Levites Divided by Families

6David divided them into divisions after the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei. 8The sons of Laadan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel — three. 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran — three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. 10The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah — these four were the sons of Shimei. 11Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one father’s house, a single division. 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel — four. 13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to be consecrated as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name forever. 14As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. 17The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief — Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. 18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second. 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22Eleazar died and had no sons, only daughters; their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth — three.

The Duties of the Levites

24These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted, listed by name, man by man, who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and up. 25For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26The Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service.” 27(For by David’s last instructions, the Levites were counted from twenty years old and up.) 28Their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of Yahweh — over the courts, the chambers, the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God — 29as well as the bread of the presence, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, whatever was baked on the griddle or fried, and every measure of quantity and size; 30and to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to Yahweh, and likewise in the evening, 31and to offer all the burnt offerings to Yahweh on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons, and at the appointed festivals, in the number required by the rule set for them, continually before Yahweh. 32So they kept charge of the tent of meeting, charge of the sanctuary, and charge of their kinsmen the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of Yahweh.