1 Chronicles 23:1-32 - David Organizes The Levites

¹ And when David was old and stricken in years, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ² And then he gathered together all the lords of Israel with the priests and the Levites. ³ And the Levites were numbered from thirty years and above, and the tale of them in men, poll by poll, was thirty eight thousand. ⁴ Of which twenty four thousand were set to further the work of the house of the LORD. And six thousand were officers and judges. ⁵ Four thousand were porters and four thousand praised the LORD with such instruments as David had made to praise withal.

⁶ And David put an order among the children of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. ⁷ Of the Gershonites was Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: the chief was Jehiel and then Zetham and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the ancient heads of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei were also Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah: these four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ And Jahath was the chief, Zina the second. But Jeush and Beriah had not many sons, and therefore they were reckoned for one ancient household. ¹² The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel, four. ¹³ The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was appointed to consecrate in the place most holy, with his sons forever: and to burn the offerings before the LORD, and to minister, and to bless in his name forever. ¹⁴ And as for Moses the man of God, his children were named with the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ And of the sons of Gershom: Shebuel was the chief. ¹⁷ The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had no other sons: But the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ And of the sons 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. ²¹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²² And Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, which their brethren, the sons of Kish, took. ²³ The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth, three.

²⁴ These are the children of Levi in the households of their fathers the ancient heads, viewed and numbered by name and poll by poll from twenty year and above, to work in the service of the house of the LORD. ²⁵ For David said, "The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, and they shall dwell in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ Moreover, the Levites should now no more bear the tabernacle and all the vessels that pertain to the service thereof." - ²⁷ But at the last commandment of David, the Levites were numbered from twenty years and above - ²⁸ "To wait at the hands of the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, and to have the oversight of the courts and of the store houses, and of the purifying of all holy things, and of the work of the things that served for the house of God, ²⁹ as the shewbread, the fine flour, the meat offerings, the flawnes of sweet bread, and of the things baken in the frying pan, or broiled on the gridiron, and on all manner measures and size ³⁰ and to wait every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening. ³¹ And to wait on every offering of burnt sacrifices unto the LORD, the Sabbaths and first days of the months, and other feastful days by number and custom, was their office ever before the LORD. ³² And that they should wait on the tabernacle of witness and on the holy place, and on the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.