2
King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites.
3
He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was thirty-eight thousand.
4
The king assigned twenty-four thousand to administer the work of the Temple, six thousand to keep records and decide disputes
5
four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.
6
David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7
Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei.
8
Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel,
9
who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.)
10
Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.
12
Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.