David Organizes the Levites for the House
23 1 When David was old and had lived many years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 He gathered together all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites.
3 The Levites thirty years old or older were counted, and their total number was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of our Father, and six thousand were officers and judges. 5 Four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised our Father with the instruments David made for giving praise.
6 And David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The Clans of Gershon
7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, then Zetham and Joel, three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, 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, so they were counted together as one family, with one assignment.
The Clans of Kohath
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four in all.
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to make offerings before our Father, to serve him, and to bless in his name forever. 14 But as for Moses, the man of our Father, his sons were counted among the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.
The Clans of Merari
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters; so their relatives, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three in all.
Levite Duties in the Age of Rest
24 These were the sons of Levi by their families—the heads of the families as they were registered by name—who served in the house of our Father, twenty years old or older.
25 For David said, "Our Father, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. 26 And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the vessels used in its service."
27 For by these final instructions of David the Levites were counted from twenty years old or older. 28 Their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of our Father—caring for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and any work in the house of our Father. 29 They were responsible for the bread of the Presence, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking and the mixing, and all measurement of quantity and size.
30 They were to stand every morning to thank and praise our Father, and again in the evening, 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to our Father on the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts—always in the required number before our Father. 1 1 v31 New moons were monthly celebrations held at the start of each new Hebrew month. 32 So they were in charge of the tent of meeting and the holy place, and they helped their brothers, the sons of Aaron, in the service of the house of our Father.