Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
The Message Bible MSG
1 David being old and full of days, made Solomon his son king over Israel.
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When David got to be an old man, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, and 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 And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years, and upwards: and there were found of them thirty-eight thousand men.
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The Levites thirty years and older were counted; the total was 38,000.
4 Of these twenty-four thousand were chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers 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 Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instruments, which he had made to sing with.
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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 And David distributed them into courses by the families of the sons of Levi, to wit, of Gerson, and of Caath, and of Merari.
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David then divided the Levites into groupings named after the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semei.
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The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Leedan: the chief Jahiel, and Zethan, and Joel, three.
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The three sons of Ladan: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel.
9 The sons of Semei: Salomith, and Hosiel, and Aran, three: these were the heads of the families of Leedan.
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The three sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, all heads of the families of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Semei were Leheth, and Ziza, and Jaus, and Baria: these were the sons of Semei, four.
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The four sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
11 And Leheth was the first, Ziza the second: but Jaus and Baria had not many children, and therefore they were counted in one family, and in one house.
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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 The sons of Caath were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Oziel, four.
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The four sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13 The sons of Amram, Aaron, and Moses. And Aaron was separated to minister in the holy of holies, he and his sons for ever, and to burn incense before the Lord, according to his ceremonies, and to bless his name for ever.
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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 The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in 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 Gersom and Eliezer:
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The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The sons of Gersom: Subuel the first.
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Shubael was the first son of Gershom.
17 And the sons of Eliezer were: Rohobia the first: and Eliezer had no more sons. But the sons of Rohobia were multiplied exceedingly.
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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 sons of Isaar: Salomith the first.
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Shelomith was the first son of Izhar.
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriau the first, Amarias the second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam the fourth
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Hebron had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam
20 The sons of Oziel: Micha the first, Jesia the second.
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Uzziel had two sons: Micah and Isshiah.
21 The sons of Merari: Moholi, and Musi. The sons of Moholi: Eleazar and Cis
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The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons but daughters: and the sons of Cis their brethren took them.
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Eleazar died without any sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married the daughters.
23 The sons of Musi: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.
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Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
24 These are the sons of Levi in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, and the number of every head that did the works of the ministry of the house of the Lord from twenty years old and upward.
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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 hath given rest to his people, and a habitation in Jerusalem for ever.
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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 And it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the service thereof.
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the Levites no longer have to carry the Tabernacle and all the furniture required for the work of worship."
27 So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered from twenty years old and upward.
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These last words of David referred only to Levites twenty years old and above.
28 And they are to be under the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the porches, and in the chambers, and in the place of purification, and in the sanctuary, and in all the works of the ministry of the temple of the Lord.
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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 And the priests have the charge of the loaves of proposition, and of the sacrifice of fine flour, and of the unleavened cakes, and of the fryingpan, and of the roasting, and of every weight and measure.
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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 the Levites are to stand in the morning to give thanks, and to sing praises to the Lord: and in like manner in the evening,
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Also they were to be present for morning prayers, thanking and praising God, for evening prayers,
31 As well in the oblation of the holocausts of the Lord, as in the sabbaths and in the new moons, and the rest of the solemnities, according to the number and ceremonies prescribed for every thing, continually before the Lord.
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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 let them keep the observances of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ceremonies of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, that they may minister in 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.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.
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.