Old Testament · 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 23

The Divisions of the Levites

1And David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2And he gathered all the princes of Israel, and the priests and the Levites.

3And the Levites were numbered from a son of thirty years and upward; and their number, by their heads, for the men, was thirty and eight thousand. 4Of these, to oversee over the work of the house of the LORD were twenty and four thousand; and officers and judges, six thousand; 5and four thousand were gatekeepers; and four thousand praising the LORD with the instruments which I made to praise.

6And David divided them into divisions, for the sons of Levi: for Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 3:21–26; Numbers 4:21–28)

7For the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the head, and Zetham, and Joel, three.

9The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers for Ladan.

10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11And Jahath was the head, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not multiply sons, so they became one father's house in one reckoning.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 3:27–32; Numbers 4:1–20)

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

13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was separated, to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name forever. 14But Moses the man^a of God — his sons are called over the tribe of Levi.

15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

16The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the head.

17And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the head. And Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the head.

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

20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the head, and Isshiah the second.

The Merarites

(Numbers 3:33–37; Numbers 4:29–33)

21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only; and the sons of Kish, their brothers, took them.

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

Levite Duties Revised

24These were the sons of Levi by the house of their fathers, heads of the fathers, by their musterings, in the number of names by their heads, doing the work for the service^b of the house of the LORD, from a son of twenty years and upward.

25For David said, "The LORD the God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26And also for the Levites — there is no need to carry the tabernacle^c and all its vessels for its service."

27For by the last words of David, these were the number of the sons of Levi, from a son of twenty years and upward. 28For their station was at the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the purification of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God; 29and for the bread of the arrangement, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, and for the wafers of unleavened bread, and for the griddle, and for the well-mixed, and for all measure and size;

30and to stand morning by morning to give thanks and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening; 31and for every offering up of burnt offerings to the LORD, for the Shabbat, for the new moons, and for the appointed times (moedim), by number, according to the judgment^d upon them, continually before the LORD. 32And they shall keep the charge^e of the tent^f of appointed time (mo-ed), and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of the house of the LORD.