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1 Chronicles 23
Amplified Bible
1 Chronicles 23
Amplified Bible
Solomon Reigns
23 When David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he assembled together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and Levites.
Offices of the Levites
3 The Levites thirty years old and upward were counted, and their number man by man was 38,000. 4 Of these [a]24,000 were to oversee and inspect the work of the house of the Lord and 6,000 were to be administrators and judges, 5 and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 [musicians] were to praise the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise. 6 And David organized them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Gershonites
7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan (Libni) and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first and 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 (Zizah), Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons [not enough for a father’s house or clan], so they were [counted together] as one father’s household, one working group.
Kohathites
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 him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, attend to His service, and to bless [worshipers] in His name forever. 14 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were counted among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The son of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. 17 The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very many [in number]. 18 The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
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 relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
Duties Revised
24 These were the Levites by their fathers’ households, the heads of the fathers’ households of those registered, according to the number of names of the individuals who were the servants of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel, has given peace and 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 utensils for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David, the Levites from twenty years old and above were counted. 28 For their duty is to assist [the priests] the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in [caring for] the courtyards, the chambers, the purifying of all holy things, and any work of the service of the house of God, 29 and with the showbread, and the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or what is baked in the pan or what is well-mixed, and all measures of volume and size [as the Law of Moses required]. 30 They are to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and to offer all burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the festivals by number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord. 32 So they shall be responsible for the Tent of Meeting, the Holy Place, and the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 23:4 This number might seem high if the situation is not clarified. There are several important factors to consider: 1. The Levites were divided into 24 rotating divisions (1 Chr 24:6-19). 2. It is plausible that 1,000 Levites were on duty at any one time for Solomon’s temple, considering the many purposes and required maintenance of the building, its ornate ritual, and the scale of the work. 3. In the wilderness, the worshiper would kill the animal he brought for an offering, skin it, cut it in pieces, and wash the entrails and legs. But now all these tasks were the duty of the Levites or Nethinim (servants of the temple); in addition, the number of worshipers had greatly increased, requiring a large number of Levites.
1 Chronicles 23
New International Version
1 Chronicles 23
New International Version
The Levites
23 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon(A) king over Israel.(B)
2 He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years old or more(C) were counted,(D) and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.(E) 4 David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge(F) of the work(G) of the temple of the Lord and six thousand are to be officials and judges.(H) 5 Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments(I) I have provided for that purpose.”(J)
6 David separated(K) the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi:(L) Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
Gershonites
7 Belonging to the Gershonites:(M)
Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan:
Jehiel the first, 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, Ziza,[a] Jeush and Beriah.
These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.
11 Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.
Kohathites
12 The sons of Kohath:(N)
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram:(O)
Aaron and Moses.
Aaron was set apart,(P) he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to minister(Q) before him and to pronounce blessings(R) in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man(S) of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses:
Gershom and Eliezer.(T)
16 The descendants of Gershom:(U)
Shubael was the first.
17 The descendants of Eliezer:
Rehabiah(V) was the first.
Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
18 The sons of Izhar:
Shelomith(W) was the first.
19 The sons of Hebron:(X)
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel:
Micah the first and Ishiah the second.
Merarites
21 The sons of Merari:(Y)
Mahli and Mushi.(Z)
The sons of Mahli:
Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.(AA)
23 The sons of Mushi:
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.
24 These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more(AB) who served in the temple of the Lord. 25 For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest(AC) to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.”(AD) 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.
28 The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification(AE) of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. 29 They were in charge of the bread set out on the table,(AF) the special flour for the grain offerings,(AG) the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.(AH) 30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening(AI) 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon(AJ) feasts and at the appointed festivals.(AK) They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.
32 And so the Levites(AL) carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting,(AM) for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.(AN)
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 23:10 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also verse 11); most Hebrew manuscripts Zina
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