I Chronicles 23 David Makes Solomon King and Orders the Levites' Divisions and Functions

 I Chronicles 23

David Makes Solomon King and Orders the Levites' Divisions and Functions

1 Now David was old and full of days, and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

2 And he assembled all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

3 And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and their number, according to their heads, was thirty-eight thousand men.

4 Of these there were twenty-four thousand to do the work of the house of the LORD, and six thousand officers and judges.

5 And four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand were to praise the LORD with the instruments that I made for praise, said David.

6 And David divided them by divisions according to the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan; Jeiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three.

9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Aram, three: these were the chief of the fathers of Ladan.

10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, and Jeush, and Beriah: these were the sons of Shimei, four.

11 And Jahath was the chief, and Ziza the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: therefore they were numbered in their fathers' house as one family.

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

13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was set apart to sanctify the most holy place, he and his sons, for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to give the blessing in his name for ever. 14 As for Moses the man of God, his sons were numbered among the tribe of Levi.

15 Now the sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer.

16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the chief.

17 And of the sons of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah multiplied greatly.

18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the chief.

19 As for the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20 As for the sons of Uzziel, Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; and the sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and the sons of Kish, his brothers, took them as wives.

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

24 These are the sons of Levi, by their fathers' houses, heads of the fathers' houses, as they were numbered by the number of names, according to their heads who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, from twenty years old and upward.

25 For David said, "The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he will dwell in Jerusalem forever."

26 And as for the Levites, they were not to carry the tabernacle or any of its articles pertaining to its service any more.

27 For according to the last words of David, the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward.

28 For their office was to be at the command of the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers, and in the purification of all the holy things, and in the work of the service of the house of God:

 29 namely, for the shewbread, and for the fine flour, for the meat offering, and for the unleavened wafers, and for the pans, and for the parched meat, and for all measure and measurables; 

30 and to stand every morning to praise and to celebrate the Lord, and likewise at evening; 

31 and for every offering of the burnt offerings of the Lord, on the sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the appointed feasts, by number, according to their custom, continually before the Lord: 

32 and to keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord.