| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. | 1When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel. |
| 2Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. | 2David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. |
| 3The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000. | 3All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000. |
| 4“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, | 4Then 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. |
| 54,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.” | 5Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made.” |
| 6Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. | 6Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Gershonites |
| 7The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. | 7The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. |
| 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham, and Joel—three in all. | 8Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. |
| 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan. | 9These were the leaders of the family of Libni. Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. |
| 10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei—four in all. | 10Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. |
| 11Jahath 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. | 11Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons. The Kohathites |
| 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. | 12Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. |
| 13The 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. | 13The 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. |
| 14As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. | 14As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi. |
| 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. | 15The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. |
| 16The descendants of Gershom: Shebuel was the first. | 16The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader. |
| 17The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. | 17Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants. |
| 18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first. | 18The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader. |
| 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. | 19The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth). |
| 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah was the first and Isshiah the second. | 20The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second). The Merarites |
| 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. | 21The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. |
| 22Eleazar died without having any sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. | 22Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. |
| 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all. | 23Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. |
| 24These 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. | 24These 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. |
| 25For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. | 25For David said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem. |
| 26So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.” | 26Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place.” |
| 27For according to the final instructions of David, the Levites twenty years of age or older were counted, | 27In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service. |
| 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, | 28The 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. |
| 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. | 29They 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. |
| 30They were also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. | 30And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him. |
| 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. | 31They 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. |
| 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. | 32And 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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