New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel.
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When David got to be an old man, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites.
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At the same time he brought together all the leaders of Israel, 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.
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The Levites thirty years and older were counted; the total was 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.
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David sorted them into work groups: "24,000 are in charge of administering worship in the sanctuary; 6,000 are officials and judges
5 Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made.”
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4,000 are security guards; and 4,000 are to serve in the orchestra, praising God with instruments that I have provided for praise."
6 Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
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David then divided the Levites into groupings named after the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon.
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The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel.
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The three sons of Ladan: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel.
9 These were the leaders of the family of Libni. Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.
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The three sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, all heads of the families of Ladan.
10 Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
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The four sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
11 Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.
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Jahath came first, followed by Ziza. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons so they were counted as one family with one task.
12 Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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The four sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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.
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The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was especially ordained to work in the Holy of Holies, to burn incense before God, to serve God and bless his Name always. This was a permanent appointment for Aaron and his sons.
14 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi.
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Moses and his sons were counted in the tribe of Levi
15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.
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The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader.
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Shubael was the first son of Gershom.
17 Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants.
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Rehabiah was the first and only son of Eliezer; but though Eliezer had no other sons, Rehabiah had many sons.
18 The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader.
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Shelomith was the first son of Izhar.
19 The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).
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Hebron had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam
20 The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).
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Uzziel had two sons: Micah and Isshiah.
21 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
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The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish
22 Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.
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Eleazar died without any sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married the daughters.
23 Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
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Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
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 .
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These are the sons of Levi twenty years and older, divided up according to families and heads of families and listed in the work groups that took care of the worship in the sanctuary of God.
25 For David said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem.
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David said, "Now that the God of Israel has given rest to his people and made Jerusalem his permanent home,
26 Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place.”
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the Levites no longer have to carry the Tabernacle and all the furniture required for the work of worship."
27 In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service.
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These last words of David referred only to Levites twenty 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.
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From now on the assigned work of the Levites was to assist Aaron's sons in the work of worship in God's house: maintain courtyards and closets, keep the furniture and utensils of worship clean, take care of any extra work needed in the work of worship,
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.
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and provide bread for the table and flour for the Meal Offerings and the unraised wafers - all baking and mixing, all measuring and weighing.
30 And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him.
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Also they were to be present for morning prayers, thanking and praising God, for evening prayers,
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.
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and at the service of Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God on Sabbath, at New Moons, and at all festivals. They were on regular duty to serve God according to their assignment and the required number.
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 .
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In short, the Levites, with the sons of Aaron as their companions in the ministry of holy worship, were responsible for everything that had to do with worship: the place and times and ordering of worship.
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.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.