1 Chronicles, Chapter 23:
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Verses from 1 Chronicles, Chapter 23 of the book of 1 Chronicles of the Bible.
The Levites
- 1. In his old and advanced years, David established his son Solomon as king over Israel.
- 2. He summoned all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.
- 3. The Levites aged thirty years and older were counted, and the total number reached thirty-eight thousand.
- 4. David chose twenty-four thousand of them to oversee the work of the temple of the Lord, and six thousand to be officials and judges,
- 5. four thousand to be doorkeepers and four thousand to praise the Lord with the musical instruments that David had prepared for this purpose.
- 6. David distributed the Levites into groups according to the descendants of Gershon, Kohath and Merari, sons of Levi.
- 7. The sons of Gershon were: Ladan and Shimei.
- 8. These were the sons of Ladan: Jeiel the first, Zethan and Joel, three in all.
- 9. These were the sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel and Haran, three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
- 10. And the sons of Shimei were: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei, four in all.
- 11. Jahath was the first, Ziza the second, but Jehu and Beriah did not have many children, so they were counted as a single family.
- 12. Of the sons of Kohath: Amram, Isar, Hebron and Uziel, four in all.
- 13. These were the sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants, forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices to the Lord, to serve him before him, and to pronounce blessings in his name.
- 14. The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
- 15. These were the sons of Moses: Gershon and Eliezer.
- 16. Sebuel was the leader of the descendants of Gershon.
- 17. Rehabiah was the chief of Eliezer's descendants. Eliezer had no more children, but Rehabiah had many children.
- 18. Shelomith was the leader of the sons of Isar.
- 19. These were the sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first; Amarias, the second; Jahaziel, the third; and Jecameão was the fourth.
- 20. These were the sons of Uzziel: Micah the first; and Issias, the second.
- 21. Of the sons of Merari: Mali and Musi. These were the sons of Mali: Eleazar and Kish.
- 22. Eleazar had no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, sons of Kish, married them.
- 23. These were the sons of Musi: Mali, Eder and Jeremoth, three in all.
- 24. These were the descendants of Levi, according to their families: the heads of families, recorded by their names and counted individually, that is, those twenty years old or more, who served in the temple of the Lord.
- 25. For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and chosen to dwell in Jerusalem forever,
- 26. the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle and the utensils used in its service.”
- 27. In accordance with David's last instructions, the Levites aged twenty and over were counted.
- 28. The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the Lord's temple. They were responsible for the courtyards, side rooms, purification of all holy things, and other tasks in the house of God.
- 29. They were in charge of the consecrated bread, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened cakes, the baking of the bread and the mixing of the dough, in addition to the weights and measures.
- 30. They should appear before the Lord every morning and afternoon to offer praise and thanksgiving, as well as carry out the same procedure
- 31. on occasions of burnt offerings presented to the Lord on Saturdays, on the new moon festivals and on the fixed festivals. They served regularly before the Lord, according to the number assigned to them.
- 32. Thus, the Levites were in charge of the Tent of Meeting, the Holy Place and helping their brothers, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the temple of the Lord.
