The Divisions of the Levites 1 UDB David was a very old man when he appointed his son Solomon to be the next king. BSB BSB: When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
2 UDB David gathered the leaders of Israel and the priests and other descendants of Levi. BSB BSB: Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites.
3 UDB He commanded some of his officials to count the descendants of Levi who were at least thirty years old, and they found out that there were thirty-eight thousand of them. BSB BSB: The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000.
4 UDB Then David said, "From those thirty-eight thousand men, I want twenty-four thousand of them to supervise the work at the temple of Yahweh, and I want six thousand of them to be officials and judges. BSB BSB: “Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
5 UDB I want four thousand to be guards at the gates, and four thousand to praise Yahweh, using the musical instruments that I have provided for them." BSB BSB: 4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”
6 UDB David divided the descendants of Levi into three groups; each group consisted of men who were descendants of one of the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. BSB BSB: Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The Gershonites (Numbers 3:21–26; Numbers 4:21–28)
7 UDB The descendants of Gershon were Ladan and Shimei. BSB BSB: The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
8 UDB There were three sons of Ladan: Jehiel, who was the oldest, and his younger brothers Zetham and Joel. BSB BSB: The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.
9 UDB There were three of the sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. They were all leaders of the clans of Ladan. BSB BSB: The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.
10 UDB There were four men who were sons of Shimei: BSB BSB: And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.
11 UDB Jahath, who was his oldest son, and his younger brothers Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as though they were one family. BSB BSB: Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment.
The Kohathites (Numbers 3:27–32; Numbers 4:1–20)
12 UDB Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. BSB BSB: The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
13 UDB There were two sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate to Yahweh the very holy things, to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, to serve in his presence, and to declare to the people what Yahweh would do to bless them. They were to do those things forever. BSB BSB: The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever.
14 UDB The sons of Moses, the man who served God well, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. They are listed next. BSB BSB: As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 UDB The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. BSB BSB: The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 UDB The oldest son of Gershom was Shubael. BSB BSB: The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first.
17 UDB Rehabiah was the oldest son of Eliezer. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons. BSB BSB: The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
18 UDB The oldest son of Izhar was Shelomith. BSB BSB: The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first.
19 UDB Hebron had four sons. Jeriah was his oldest son, and his younger brothers were Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. BSB BSB: The sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 UDB Uzziel had two sons. Micah was the oldest son, and his younger brother was Isshiah. BSB BSB: The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second.
The Merarites (Numbers 3:33–37; Numbers 4:29–33)
21 UDB Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. BSB BSB: The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
22 UDB Eleazar had no sons; he had only daughters. So their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. BSB BSB: Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
23 UDB The three sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. BSB BSB: The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
Levite Duties Revised 24 UDB Those were the descendants of Levi, whose names were listed according to their families. They were chosen for special jobs by casting lots. Each person who was at least twenty years old was listed. They all worked in the temple of Yahweh. BSB BSB: These 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.
25 UDB David had said previously, "Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelite people belong, has enabled us to have peace, and he has come to live in Jerusalem forever. BSB BSB: For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever.
26 UDB Therefore, the descendants of Levi no longer need to carry the sacred tent and the items used in the work there." BSB BSB: So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.”
27 UDB Obeying the final instructions of David before he died, instructions for doing this work at the temple, they counted only the descendants of Levi who were at least twenty years old. BSB BSB: For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted,
28 UDB The work of those descendants of Levi was to assist the descendants of Aaron in their work in Yahweh's temple. They were to be in charge of the temple courtyards and the side rooms, the ceremonies for purifying all the sacred things, and to do other work at the temple. BSB BSB: but 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,
29 UDB They were also in charge of the loaves of bread on display before God, the loaves that were placed each week on the table in the temple, the flour for the flour offerings, and the wafers that were made without yeast. They also had to measure the ingredients, mix them, and bake the bread and wafers. BSB BSB: as 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.
30 UDB They were also told to stand every morning at the temple and thank Yahweh and praise him. They were also required to do the same thing every evening. BSB BSB: They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening.
31 UDB And they were to do the same thing whenever offerings that were to be completely burned on the altar were presented to Yahweh on Sabbath days and during the new moon celebrations and other religious festivals. They were told how many of them should be there and what they should do each time. BSB BSB: Whenever 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.
32 UDB So the descendants of Levi did the work that was assigned to them by their fellow Israelites who were descendants of Aaron. They did that work at the sacred tent and in the holy place inside the tent, and later at the temple. BSB BSB: So 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.
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