1 Chronicles 23

1 Chronicles 23:1 When David was old and full of days, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.

1 Chronicles 23:2 Then he gathered all the captains of Israel, the priests, and the Levites.

1 Chronicles 23:3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted; the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand by headcount.

1 Chronicles 23:4 “Of these,” David said, “twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work on Yahveh’s house, six thousand are to be officers[1] and judges,

1 Chronicles 23:5 four thousand are to be gatekeepers, and four thousand praise Yahveh with the instruments I have made for worship.”

1 Chronicles 23:6 David divided them into divisions according to Levi’s sons: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

1 Chronicles 23:7 The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

1 Chronicles 23:8 Ladan’s sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel — three.

1 Chronicles 23:9 Shimei’s sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran — three. Those were the heads of the families of Ladan.

1 Chronicles 23:10 Shimei’s sons: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah. Those were Shimei’s sons– four.

1 Chronicles 23:11 Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became one house and received a single assignment.

1 Chronicles 23:12 Kohath’s sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel — four.

1 Chronicles 23:13 Amram’s sons: Aaron and Moses. Aaron, along with his descendants, was set apart permanently to consecrate the most sacred things, burn incense in the face of the Lord, minister to him, and pronounce empowerments in his name.

1 Chronicles 23:14 As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

1 Chronicles 23:15 Moses’s sons: Gershom and Eliezer.

1 Chronicles 23:16 Gershom’s sons: Shebuel was first.

1 Chronicles 23:17 Eliezer’s sons were Rehabiah, first; Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very numerous.

1 Chronicles 23:18 Izhar’s sons: Shelomith was first.

1 Chronicles 23:19 Hebron’s sons: Jeriah was first, Amariah second, Jahaziel third, and Jekameam fourth.

1 Chronicles 23:20 Uzziel’s sons: Micah was first, and Isshiah second.

1 Chronicles 23:21 Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons: Eleazar and Kish.

1 Chronicles 23:22 Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

1 Chronicles 23:23 Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth — three.

1 Chronicles 23:24 These were the descendants of Levi by their ancestral families — the family heads, according to their registration by name in the headcount– twenty years old or more, who worked in the service of Yahveh’ stemple.

1 Chronicles 23:25 David said, “Yahveh God of Israel has allowed rest to his people, and he has come to stay in Jerusalem permanently.

1 Chronicles 23:26 Also, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service” —

1 Chronicles 23:27 because according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted —

1 Chronicles 23:28 “but their duty will be to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of Yahveh’s temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the sacred things, and the work of the service of God’s temple —

1 Chronicles 23:29 as well as the rows of the Bread of the Presence, the fine flour for the tribute offering, the wafers of Matzah,[2] the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of volume and length.

1 Chronicles 23:30 They also stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening.

1 Chronicles 23:31 Whenever ascending offerings are offered to Yahveh on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and conferences, they are to offer them continually in Yahveh’s presence according to the number of the judgment.

1 Chronicles 23:32 They are to be careful of their responsibilities for the conference tent, for the sacred place, and for their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of Yahveh’s house.”

[1] שֹׁטֵר = officer. 1 Chronicles 23:4; 26:29; 27:1.

[2] מַצָּה = Matzah (unleavened bread). 1 Chronicles 23:29.