The Levites Are Organized to Serve in the Temple

23 When David had grown old and had lived out his years, he made his son Solomon king of Israel. ² He gathered all the officials of Israel and the priests and Levites. ³ Every male Levite who was at least 30 years old was counted. There were 38,000. ⁴ Of these, 24,000 were appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 were appointed to be officers and judges, ⁵ 4,000 were appointed to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 were appointed to praise the Lord with the instruments David had made for praising God. ⁶ David organized the Levites into divisions based on which of Levi’s sons (Gershon, Kohath, or Merari) they were descended from.

⁷ Ladan and Shimei were Gershon’s descendants. ⁸ Ladan had three sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel. ⁹ Shimei had three sons: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran. They were the heads of Ladan’s families. ¹⁰ Shimei’s sons were Jahath, Zina,^[a] Jeush, and Beriah. They were Shimei’s four sons. ¹¹ Jahath was the first, and Ziza was the second. Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons, so they were given an assignment as one family.

¹² Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹³ Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his sons were forever designated to dedicate the most holy things ⌞to God⌟, to offer sacrifices to the Lord, to serve him, and always give the blessing in his name. ¹⁴ The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted with the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ Gershom’s only son was Shebuel. ¹⁷ Eliezer’s only son was Rehabiah. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons. ¹⁸ Izhar’s only son was Shelomith. ¹⁹ Hebron’s first son was Jeriah; his second was Amariah; his third was Jahaziel; his fourth was Jekameam. ²⁰ Uzziel’s first son was Micah; his second was Isshiah.

²¹ Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish. ²² Eleazar died without having any sons. He only had daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. ²³ Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

²⁴ These were Levi’s descendants, who were grouped according to their families. The heads of their families were registered by name as they were counted. Everyone who served in the Lord’s temple was at least 20 years old. ²⁵ David had said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest. He will now live in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ The Levites will no longer have to carry the tent and all the utensils used in worship.”

²⁷ David’s last instructions were to count the Levites who were at least 20 years old. ²⁸ They were appointed to stand beside Aaron’s descendants to serve in the Lord’s temple. They were appointed to be in charge of the courtyards and the temple rooms, to ensure that all the holy things were clean,^[b] and to serve in God’s temple. ²⁹ They were also responsible for the rows of bread, the flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread wafers, and the bread made in frying pans. In addition, they were responsible for mixing the ingredients and keeping track of all weights and measures. ³⁰ They were appointed to stand to give thanks and praise to the Lord every morning. They were appointed to do the same thing in the evening. ³¹ They were appointed to stand in front of the Lord in the required numbers whenever burnt offerings were made—on weekly days of rest—holy days, at New Moon Festivals, and on appointed annual festivals. ³² They were appointed to follow the regulations for the tent of meeting and the holy place and to help their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, as they served in the Lord’s temple.

The Organization of the Priests

24 The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² Nadab and Abihu died before their father died, and neither had any children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

³ David, Eleazar’s descendant Zadok, and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech divided Aaron’s descendants into groups for service. ⁴ Since Eleazar’s descendants had more men who were family heads than Ithamar’s descendants, they were divided so that Eleazar’s descendants had 16 family leaders and Ithamar’s descendants had 8 family leaders. ⁵ Both groups were divided impartially by drawing lots so that there were officers for the holy place and officers for God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants. ⁶ The scribe Shemaiah was a son of Nethanel and a descendant of Levi. Shemaiah recorded their names in the presence of the king, the princes, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech (son of Abiathar), and the family leaders of the priests and Levites. One family was chosen for Eleazar, another for Ithamar.

⁷ The first lot drawn was for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, ⁸ the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, ⁹ the fifth for Malchiah, the sixth for Mijamin, ¹⁰ the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah, ¹¹ the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah, ¹² the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim, ¹³ the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab, ¹⁴ the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer, ¹⁵ the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez, ¹⁶ the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel, ¹⁷ the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul, ¹⁸ the twenty-third for Delaiah, the twenty-fourth for Maaziah. ¹⁹ These were their priestly groups when they went to serve at the Lord’s temple. Their ancestor Aaron made these rules for them, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

The Organization of the Levites

²⁰ ⌞The following men were leaders⌟ for Levi’s descendants ⌞from Kohath⌟:

²⁶ The following men were leaders from Levi’s descendants from Merari:

These were Levi’s descendants according to their families. ³¹ They drew lots as their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, had done. They drew them in front of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the leaders of the families of the priests and Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same way as those of the youngest.