David Organizes the Levites

q When David was old and full of days, r he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 David1 assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. 3 The Levites, s thirty years old and upwards, were numbered, and t the total was u thirty-eight thousand men. 4 “Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,1 v “shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, six

thousand shall be w officers and judges, 5 four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments x that I have made for praise.” 6 y And David organized them into divisions z corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 a The sons of Gershon1 were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan: b Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses

of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the

second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father’s house. 12 c The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four in all. 13 d The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. e Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons for ever should f make offerings before the Lord and g minister to him and h pronounce blessings in his name for ever. 14 But the sons of Moses the i man of God were named among the j tribe of Levi. 15 The k sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: l Shebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The m sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 n The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second. 21 o The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and p Kish. 22 Eleazar died q having no sons, but only daughters; their r kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. 23 s The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three in all. 24 t These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of fathers’ houses u as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from v twenty years old and upwards who were to do the work for the service of the

house of the Lord. 25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, w has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem for ever. 26 And so the

Levites no longer need x to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered

from v twenty years old and upwards. 28 For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. 29 Their duty was also to assist with the y showbread, the z flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the a baked offering, the b offering mixed with oil, and all c measures of quantity or size. 30 And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord d on Sabbaths, e new moons, and feast days, f according to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. 32 Thus g they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the h service of the house of the Lord.