| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. | 1When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. |
| 2David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. | 2He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. |
| 3The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. | 3The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. |
| 4David said, "Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the LORD's temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; | 4David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work of the temple of the LORD and six thousand are to be officials and judges. |
| 54,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I supplied for worship." | 5Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose." |
| 6David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. | 6David separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. |
| 7The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei. | 7Belonging to the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. |
| 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel--three in all. | 8The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel--three in all. |
| 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran--three in all. These were the leaders of the family of Ladan. | 9The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran--three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan. |
| 10The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei's sons--four in all. | 10And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei--four in all. |
| 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. | 11Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment. |
| 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel--four in all. | 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel--four in all. |
| 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. | 13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. |
| 14The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites. | 14The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. |
| 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. | 15The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. |
| 16The son of Gershom: Shebuel the oldest. | 16The descendants of Gershom: Shubael was the first. |
| 17The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants. | 17The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. |
| 18The son of Izhar: Shelomith the oldest. | 18The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first. |
| 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. | 19The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth. |
| 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second. | 20The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Ishiah 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 without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them. | 22Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them. |
| 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth--three in all. | 23The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth--three in all. |
| 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. | 24These were the descendants of Levi by their families--the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the LORD. |
| 25For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. | 25For David had said, "Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, |
| 26So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service." | 26the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service." |
| 27According to David's final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted. | 27According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more. |
| 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. | 28The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. |
| 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. | 29They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. |
| 30They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the LORD. They also did this in the evening | 30They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening |
| 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. | 31and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them. |
| 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. | 32And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the LORD. |
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