| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1When David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. | 1When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. |
| 2David assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. | 2David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. |
| 3The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and the total was 38,000 men. | 3The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. |
| 4“Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said, “shall have charge of the work in the house of the LORD, 6,000 shall be officers 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; |
| 54,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the LORD with the instruments that I have made for praise.” | 54,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I supplied for worship." |
| 6And David organized them in divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. | 6David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. |
| 7The sons of Gershon were Ladan and Shimei. | 7The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei. |
| 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. | 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel--three in all. |
| 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. | 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran--three in all. These were the leaders of the family of Ladan. |
| 10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. | 10The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei's sons--four in all. |
| 11Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father’s house. | 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. |
| 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. | 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel--four in all. |
| 13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should make offerings before the LORD and minister to him and 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. |
| 14But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of Levi. | 14The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites. |
| 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. | 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. |
| 16The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. | 16The son of Gershom: Shebuel the oldest. |
| 17The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. | 17The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants. |
| 18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. | 18The son of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest. |
| 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, 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 sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second. | 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second. |
| 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. | 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. |
| 22Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters; their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. | 22Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them. |
| 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three. | 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth--three in all. |
| 24These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of fathers’ houses as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from twenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of 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 rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. | 25For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. |
| 26And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” | 26So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service." |
| 27For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. | 27According to David's final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted. |
| 28For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of 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. |
| 29Their duty was also to assist with the showbread, the flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and all measures of quantity or size. | 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 they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the LORD, and likewise at evening, | 30They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the LORD. They also did this in the evening |
| 31and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the LORD on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, according to the number required of them, regularly before the LORD. | 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. |
| 32Thus they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of 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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