| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1After David had reached old age, and had completed his reign, he set his son Solomon as king over Israel. | 1When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. |
| 2David then gathered together all of the leaders of Israel, including the priests and descendants of Levi. | 2David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. |
| 3descendants of Levi 30 years old and above were counted for a total of 38,000. | 3The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. |
| 4"24,000 of these," David said, "are to be set in charge of the work of the Temple of the LORD, with 6,000 serving as 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; |
| 5with 4,000 gatekeepers, and with 4,000 offering praises to the LORD with the musical instruments that I have had crafted." | 54,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I supplied for worship." |
| 6David divided them into divisions based on Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, Levi's sons. | 6David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. |
| 7The descendants of Gershon?? were Ladan and Shimei. | 7The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei. |
| 8The three descendants of Ladan included Jehiel (their chief), Zetham, and Joel. | 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel--three in all. |
| 9The three descendants of Shimei included Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the heads of families of Ladan. | 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran--three in all. These were the leaders of the family of Ladan. |
| 10The descendants of Shimei included Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were sons of Shimei. | 10The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei's sons--four in all. |
| 11Jahath served as chief and Zizah was second in rank, but since Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, they were enrolled as a single family unit. | 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 four descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. | 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel--four in all. |
| 13The descendants of Amram included Aaron and Moses. Aaron had been set apart to consecrate the most holy things, with the intent that he and his sons should present offerings in the LORD's presence forever, ministering to him and pronouncing 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. |
| 14Meanwhile, as for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered among the tribe of Levi. | 14The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites. |
| 15The descendants of Moses included Gershom and Eliezer. | 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. |
| 16The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel as their chief. | 16The son of Gershom: Shebuel the oldest. |
| 17The descendants of Eliezer included Rehabiah as their chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many 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 their chief. | 18The son of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest. |
| 19The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah their chief, Amariah their second in rank, Jahaziel their third, and Jekameam their fourth. | 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. |
| 20The descendants of Uzziel included Micah their chief and Isshiah their second in rank. | 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second. |
| 21The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The descendants of Mahli included Eleazar and Kish, | 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. |
| 22but Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters. Their relatives (the descendants of Kish) married them. | 22Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them. |
| 23The three descendants of Mushi included Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. | 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth--three in all. |
| 24These were the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral households, with family heads documented according to the names of persons 20 years and older who were appointed to perform work in service to the Temple 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 had said "The LORD God of Israel has granted rest to his people, and he has taken Israel as his eternal residence. | 25For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. |
| 26Therefore the descendants of Levi are no longer to carry the Tent or its service implements." | 26So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service." |
| 27Since, according to David's final instructions, the list above contains the total number of descendants of Levi from the age of 20 years and upward, | 27According to David's final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted. |
| 28David issued these orders: "Instead, they are to assist by lending a hand to the descendants of Aaron regarding service to the Temple of the LORD relating to the courts, the chambers, purification of everything pertaining to holiness, and to anything else pertaining to service on behalf of the Temple 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. |
| 29including assisting with the rows of showbread, selecting flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread, baked offerings, and oil-based offerings, no matter what the quantity or sizes. | 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. |
| 30They are to take their stand morning by morning, thanking and praising the LORD right through until the 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 |
| 31whenever burnt offerings are presented to the LORD, whether on Sabbaths, New Moons, or scheduled festivals, regularly in the LORD's presence in accordance with the number required to conduct their service. | 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. |
| 32By doing this, they will fulfill their obligation as trustees over the Tent of Assembly and the Sanctuary, attending to the needs of their relatives, who are descendants of Aaron, in keeping with their service on behalf of the Temple 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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