| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel. | 1When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. |
| 2David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. | 2David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. |
| 3All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000. | 3The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. |
| 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. | 4David said, "Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the LORD's temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; |
| 5Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made.” | 54,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I supplied for worship." |
| 6Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Gershonites | 6David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. |
| 7The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. | 7The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei. |
| 8Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. | 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel--three in all. |
| 9These were the leaders of the family of Libni. Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. | 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran--three in all. These were the leaders of the family of Ladan. |
| 10Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. | 10The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei's sons--four in all. |
| 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 | 11Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility. |
| 12Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. | 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel--four in all. |
| 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. | 13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the most holy items, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to serve him, and to praise his name. |
| 14As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi. | 14The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites. |
| 15The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. | 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. |
| 16The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader. | 16The son of Gershom: Shebuel the oldest. |
| 17Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants. | 17The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants. |
| 18The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader. | 18The son of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest. |
| 19The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth). | 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. |
| 20The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second). The Merarites | 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second. |
| 21The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. | 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. |
| 22Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. | 22Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them. |
| 23Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. | 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth--three in all. |
| 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. | 24These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the LORD's temple and were twenty years old and up. |
| 25For David said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem. | 25For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. |
| 26Now the Levites will no longer need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to place.” | 26So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service." |
| 27In accordance with David’s final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were registered for service. | 27According to David's final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted. |
| 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. | 28Their job was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the LORD's temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God's temple. |
| 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. | 29They also took care of the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring. |
| 30And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to him. | 30They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the LORD. They also did this in the evening |
| 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. | 31and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the LORD on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the LORD regularly in accordance with regulations. |
| 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. | 32They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the LORD's temple. |
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