Solomon Reigns
1 Now David was old and full of days, and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
Divisions of the Levites
3 The Levites were counted from 30 years old and up, and their number by their polls, man by man, was 38,000. 4 David said, “Of these, 24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the Lord, 6,000 are officers and judges, 5 4,000 are doorkeepers, and 4,000 praised the Lord with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”
6 David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The Gershonites
7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, 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’ households of Ladan.
10 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, therefore they were counted as one according to their family name.
The Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four in all.
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses, and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever. 14 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named 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 were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
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 Merarites
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brothers the sons of Kish took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
Levite Duties Revised
24 These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, the heads of the families of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and up.
25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.”
27 For by the last words of David, the descendants of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and up. 28 For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts, and in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, the work of the service of house of the Lord, 29 for the show bread also and for the fine flour for a grain offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size.
30 They were to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise in the evening. 31 When burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbath, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, they were to serve continually before the Lord in number according to the ordinance concerning them. 32 This they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of the house of the Lord.