1By now David was old; he had lived a long life. He made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2He brought together all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites.
3The Levites were counted from thirty years old and older; their total number, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.
4David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to supervise the work of Yahweh’s house. Six thousand were officers and judges.
5Four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the musical instruments I made for giving praise.”
6David divided them into groups according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7From the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three in all.
9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of Ladan’s family groups.
10The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
11Jahath was the chief, and Zizah was second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family group.
12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four in all.
13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to serve him, and to bless in his name, forever.
14However, as for Moses, the man of God, his sons were counted among the tribe of Levi.
15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
17Eliezer’s firstborn son was Rehabiah, and Eliezer had no other sons. Rehabiah had many sons.
18Izhar’s firstborn son was Shelomith.
19Hebron’s sons were Jeriah (first), Amariah (second), Jahaziel (third), and Jekameam (fourth).
20Uzziel’s sons were Micah (first) and Isshiah (second).
21Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons were Eleazar and Kish.
22Eleazar died, leaving no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, a total of three.
24These were the families of Levi. They were the leaders of their family groups, counted individually by name. They were all twenty years old orOlder, and they did the work for the service of Yahweh's house.
25David had said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given his people rest, and he lives in Jerusalem forever."
26So the Levites would no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its equipment for its service.
27According to David's final instructions, the sons of Levi were counted, those who were twenty years old and Older.
28Their job was to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of Yahweh's house. This included work in the courtyards and rooms, purifying all holy things, and all the tasks for the service of God's house.
29They were also responsible for the show bread, the fine flour for grain offerings (whether unleavened wafers, baked on a pan, or soaked), and all measurements of quantity and size.
30They were to stand every morning and evening to thank and praise Yahweh.
31They were to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh on Sabbaths, new moon celebrations, and appointed feasts. They offered the required number of offerings continually before Yahweh.
32They were to take care of the Tent of Meeting, the holy place, and assist their relatives, the sons of Aaron, with the service of Yahweh's house.