1 Chronicles 23

1So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

2And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

3Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.

4Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges:footnote a

5Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.

6And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.footnote b

7Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei.footnote c

8The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.

9The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.

10And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.footnote d

11And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father’s house.footnote e

12The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

13The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.

14Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.

15The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.

16Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.footnote f

17And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.footnote gfootnote h

18Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.footnote i

19Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second.

21The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.

22And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.footnote j

23The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.

25For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:footnote k

26And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.

27For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:footnote l

28Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;footnote m

29Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;footnote n

30And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even;

31And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:

32And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.

The Divisions of the Levites

1When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. 2Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

3The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000. 4“Of these,” said David,footnote a “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, 54,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

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

The Gershonites

7The Gershonites: Ladanfootnote b and Shimei.

8The sons of Ladan: Jehielfootnote c the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.

9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10And the sons of Shimei:footnote d Jahath, Zina,footnote e Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei—four in all. 11Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment.

The Kohathites

12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.

13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever. 14As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.

17The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.

19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second.

The Merarites

21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremothfootnote f—three in all.

Levite Duties Revised

24These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the LORD.

25For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. 26So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

27For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, 28but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, 29as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

30They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. 31Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the LORD in the numbers prescribed for them. 32So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the LORD.