New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel.
1
When David had grown old after a long life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites.
2
He then gathered together all Israel's leaders along with the priests and the Levites.
3 All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000.
3
When the Levites were counted, the head count of every male 30 and older totaled 38,000.
4 Then David said, “From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the LORD . Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges.
4
Of these, there were 24,000 to supervise the work on the LORD's temple, 6,000 officers and judges,
5 Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made.”
5
4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 praising the LORD with instruments made for offering praise.
6 Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
6
Then David divided them into three groups named after Levi's family members: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon.
7
The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei.
8 Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel.
8
Ladan's family: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.
9 These were the leaders of the family of Libni. Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.
9
Jehiel's family: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the households of Ladan.
10 Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
10
Shimei's family: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were Shimei's family:
11 Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.
11
Jahath was the first, and Ziza the second; since Jeush and Beriah didn't have many children, they became a single household.
12 Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
12
Kohath's family: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the LORD ’s presence, to serve the LORD, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.
13
Amram's family: Aaron and Moses. Aaron, together with his sons, was set apart to make the holiest objects holy, to make offerings before the LORD, to serve him, and to give blessings in his name forever.
14 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.
14
As for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered to be Levites.
15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.
15
Moses' family: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader.
16
Gershom's family: Shebuel the first.
17 Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants.
17
Eliezer's family: Rehabiah the first; Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many children.
18 The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader.
18
Izhar's family: Shelomoth the first.
19 The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).
19
Hebron's family: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).
20
Uzziel's family: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
21 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
21
Merari's family: Mahli and Mushi. Mahli's family: Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.
22
Eleazar died without sons, but he did have daughters who married their relatives from Kish's family.
23 Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
23
Mushi's family: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
24 These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the LORD .
24
These were the members of Levi's family according to their households. The household heads were registered, along with a listing of the names of each person 20 years old and above who carried out assigned tasks in the LORD's temple.
25 For David said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem.
25
David said, "Since the LORD, Israel's God, has given his people peace and has made his home in Jerusalem forever,
26 Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place.”
26
the Levites need no longer carry the dwelling or any of the equipment used in its service."
27 In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service.
27
David's last instructions were to count the Levites 20 years old and above.
28 The work of the Levites was to assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the house of the LORD . They also took care of the courtyards and side rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in many other ways in the house of God.
28
Their assignment was to be at the side of the Aaronites to serve in the LORD's temple, maintaining the courtyards and side rooms and cleansing all of the holy objects and doing whatever was needed in the service of God's temple.
29 They were in charge of the sacred bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check all the weights and measures.
29
They were responsible for the stacks of bread, the fine flour for grain offerings, the wafers of unleavened bread, the cakes made on the griddle, the offering mixed with oil, as well as all the measuring.
30 And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him.
30
They were to be present every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and to do the same every evening.
31 They assisted with the burnt offerings that were presented to the LORD on Sabbath days, at new moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required number of Levites served in the LORD ’s presence at all times, following all the procedures they had been given.
31
Whenever entirely burned offerings were offered to the LORD for the sabbaths, the new moons, and festivals, a designated number were to serve in the LORD's presence continuously.
32 And so, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of the LORD .
32
In this way they were to observe the instructions for the meeting tent, the instructions for the sanctuary, and the instructions for Aaron's family and relatives about serving in the LORD's temple.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible