1 Chronicles 23

The Divisions of the Levitesⓘ

Solomon made king; Levites counted and assigned¹When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. ²Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.

³The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000. ⁴“Of these,” said David,^a “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the Lord, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, ⁵4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

⁶Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi:

The Gershonitesⓘ

The Kohathitesⓘ

The Meraritesⓘ

²²Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

Levite Duties Revisedⓘ

Levites' new duties in the temple age²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the Lord.

²⁵For David had said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”

²⁷For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, ²⁸but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹as well as for the rows of the showbread, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size.

³⁰They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the Lord, and likewise in the evening. ³¹Whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, they were to serve regularly before the Lord in the numbers prescribed for them. ³²So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the Lord.