The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and their number by census of men was 38,000.

Of these, 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord; and 6,000 were officers and judges,

and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

Of the Gershonites were Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three.

The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan.

The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.

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

The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever.

But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.

The sons of Mushi were three: Mahli, Eder and Jeremoth.

These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were counted, in the number of names by their census, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.

For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward.

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.

They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening,

Thus they are to keep charge of the tent of meeting, and charge of the holy place, and charge of the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.

Now the divisions of the descendants of Aaron were these: the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Since more chief men were found from the descendants of Eleazar than the descendants of Ithamar, they divided them thus: there were sixteen heads of fathers’ households of the descendants of Eleazar and eight of the descendants of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ households.

Thus they were divided by lot, the one as the other; for they were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God, both from the descendants of Eleazar and the descendants of Ithamar.

These were their offices for their ministry when they came in to the house of the Lord according to the ordinance given to them through Aaron their father, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

The sons of Merari: by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri.

The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals; and the number of those who performed their service was:

Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer to exalt him according to the words of God, for God gave fourteen sons and three daughters to Heman.

All these were under the direction of their father to sing in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, harps and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the direction of the king.

Their number who were trained in singing to the Lord, with their relatives, all who were skillful, was 288.

Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, the second for Gedaliah, he with his relatives and sons were twelve;

For the divisions of the gatekeepers there were of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.

Also to his son Shemaiah sons were born who ruled over the house of their father, for they were mighty men of valor.

The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad, whose brothers, Elihu and Semachiah, were valiant men.

All these were of the sons of Obed-edom; they and their sons and their relatives were able men with strength for the service, 62 from Obed-edom.

Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and relatives of Hosah were 13.

To these divisions of the gatekeepers, the chief men, were given duties like their relatives to minister in the house of the Lord.

On the east there were six Levites, on the north four daily, on the south four daily, and at the storehouse two by two.

At the Parbar on the west there were four at the highway and two at the Parbar.

These were the divisions of the gatekeepers of the sons of Korah and of the sons of Merari.

The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, namely, the Jehielites, were the heads of the fathers’ households, belonging to Ladan the Gershonite.

His relatives by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son.

As for the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned to outside duties for Israel, as officers and judges.

As for the Hebronites, Jerijah the chief (these Hebronites were investigated according to their genealogies and fathers’ households, in the fortieth year of David’s reign, and men of outstanding capability were found among them at Jazer of Gilead)

and his relatives, capable men, were 2,700 in number, heads of fathers’ households. And King David made them overseers of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites concerning all the affairs of God and of the king.

Now this is the enumeration of the sons of Israel, the heads of fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all the affairs of the divisions which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division numbering 24,000:

Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel had charge of the first division for the first month; and in his division were 24,000.

Dodai the Ahohite and his division had charge of the division for the second month, Mikloth being the chief officer; and in his division were 24,000.

The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were 24,000.

The fourth for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in his division were 24,000.

The fifth for the fifth month was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite; and in his division were 24,000.

The sixth for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; and in his division were 24,000.

The seventh for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000.

The eighth for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000.

The ninth for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite of the Benjamites; and in his division were 24,000.

The tenth for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite of the Zerahites; and in his division were 24,000.

The eleventh for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite of the sons of Ephraim; and in his division were 24,000.

The twelfth for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite of Othniel; and in his division were 24,000.

for Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.

Shitrai the Sharonite had charge of the cattle which were grazing in Sharon; and Shaphat the son of Adlai had charge of the cattle in the valleys.

Jaziz the Hagrite had charge of the flocks. All these were overseers of the property which belonged to King David.

Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it.

But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him.

So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever.

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

Now behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

“But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.

For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.

O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours.

Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You.

O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You;

and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.”

Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed low and did homage to the Lord and to the king.

Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet and in the chronicles of Gad the seer,