Levitternes opgaver
1David var nu en gammel mand, og han indsatte derfor sin søn Salomon som konge over Israel. 2Derefter indkaldte han alle landets stammeledere, præster og levitter til et stort møde. 3Ved den lejlighed optalte man alle mænd over 30 år af Levis stamme, og det blev til 38.000.
4„24.000 af disse mænd skal udføre det normale arbejde ved templet,” beordrede David. „6000 skal forestå det administrative arbejde og fungere som dommere, 54000 skal bevogte tempelområdet, og 4000 skal lovprise Herren med de musikinstrumenter, jeg har ladet fremstille.”
6David inddelte dem i grupper ud fra deres slægtskab med Levis tre sønner, Gershon, Kehat og Merari.
7Gershon-slægten blev opdelt i to afdelinger, som havde navn efter to af Gershons efterkommere, Ladan23,7 Det samme som Libni, jf. 6,17. og Shimi. 8-9De blev igen delt op i ni grupper, hvoraf tre havde navn efter Ladans sønner Jehiel (slægtens overhoved), Zetam og Joel, tre havde navn efter Shimis sønner Shelomit, Haziel og Haran, 10-11og tre havde navn efter Shimis sønner Jahat, Ziza, Jeush og Beria. Jeush’ og Berias slægter blev slået sammen til én gruppe, fordi de begge var forholdsvis små.
12Kehat-slægten blev opdelt i fire afdelinger, som havde navn efter Kehats sønner Amram, Jitzhar, Hebron og Uzziel. 13Amram var far til Moses og Aron. Aron og hans efterkommere var for altid indviet til at være præster, så de kunne arbejde med de hellige ting og ofre brændofre og røgelse til Herren og i det hele taget udføre tjeneste i helligdommen. De skulle også velsigne folket i Herrens navn.
14-15Moses’ efterkommere gennem sønnerne Gershom og Eliezer arbejdede som levitter. 16Shubael var overhoved for de slægter, der stammede fra Gershoms sønner. 17Rehabja, der var Eliezers eneste søn, blev overhoved for de slægter, der stammede fra hans mange sønner.
18Kehats anden søn Jitzhar havde en søn ved navn Shelomit, som blev overhoved for sin slægt. 19Kehats tredje søn Hebron havde fire sønner, Jerija (slægtens overhoved), Amarja, Jahaziel og Jekamam. 20Kehats fjerde søn Uzziel havde to sønner, Mika (slægtens overhoved), og Jisshija.
21Merari-slægten blev opdelt i to afdelinger, som havde navn efter Meraris sønner Mahli og Mushi. Mahli havde to sønner, Eleazar og Kish. 22Elazar havde ingen sønner, og hans døtre blev gift med Kish’ sønner. 23Mushi havde tre sønner: Mahli, Eder og Jeremot.
24Således blev Levis efterkommere omhyggeligt registreret under navnet på deres slægtsoverhoveder. En mand skulle være mindst 20 år for at få lov at arbejde ved templet. 25David sagde: „Nu har Herren, Israels Gud, givet os fred til alle sider. Nu kan han bo i Jerusalem for evigt. 26Så behøver levitterne heller ikke længere bære rundt på Herrens bolig og dens inventar fra sted til sted.”
27Ifølge Davids sidste forordninger var det levitterne fra 20 år og opefter, der skulle gøre tjeneste i templet. 28De skulle hjælpe præsterne med deres tjeneste i templet, og de fik ansvaret for forgårdene og siderummene i tempelbygningen. De skulle rengøre alle de hellige redskaber og i øvrigt udføre alt forefaldende arbejde i templet. 29De skulle også sørge for bagningen af de hellige brød, de usyrnede brød og de brød, der bages på plade, blandet med olivenolie. De skulle endvidere skaffe det særlige mel til afgrødeofrene og sørge for, at alt blev afmålt i de foreskrevne mængder.
30Hver morgen og aften trådte en gruppe levitter frem for Herren for at lovprise ham. 31Andre hjalp til i forbindelse med brændofrene, sabbatsofrene, nymånefesterne og de øvrige højtider. Der var nøje forskrifter for, hvor mange levitter der skulle gøre tjeneste ved de forskellige lejligheder. 32Deres ansvar var at tage sig af de praktiske gøremål ved det hellige rum og åbenbaringsteltet i almindelighed og i det hele taget hjælpe præsterne med deres arbejde.
The Family Line of Levi
1David had become very old. So he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2He gathered together all the leaders of Israel. He also gathered the priests and the Levites together. 3The Levites who were 30 years old or more were counted. The total number of men was 38,000. 4David said, “From them, 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the Lord’s temple. And 6,000 will be officials and judges. 5Another 4,000 will guard the gates. And 4,000 will praise the Lord with the instruments of music I’ve provided for that purpose.”
6David separated the Levites into groups. He did it according to the sons of Levi. The sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
The Family of Gershon
7Ladan and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon.
8The sons of Ladan were
Jehiel, Zetham and Joel. Jehiel was the oldest son. The total number of sons was three.
9The sons of Shimei were
Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran. The total number of sons was three.
They were the leaders of the families of Ladan.
10The sons of Shimei were
Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. The total number of the sons of Shimei was four.
11Jahath was the first son. Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons. So they were counted as one family. They had only one task.
The Family of Kohath
12The sons of Kohath were
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The total number of sons was four.
13The sons of Amram were
Aaron and Moses.
Aaron and his family line were set apart forever as the Lord’s priests. They had the duty of setting the most holy things apart to the Lord. They offered sacrifices to the Lord. They served him. They gave blessings in his name forever. 14The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15The sons of Moses were
Gershom and Eliezer.
16Shubael was the oldest son in the family line of Gershom.
17Rehabiah was the oldest son in the family line of Eliezer.
Eliezer didn’t have any other sons. But Rehabiah had a great many sons.
18Shelomith was the oldest son of Izhar.
19Jeriah was the first son of Hebron.
Amariah was his second son. Jahaziel was the third. Jekameam was the fourth.
20Micah was the first son of Uzziel. Ishiah was his second son.
The Family of Merari
21The sons of Merari were
Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli were
Eleazar and Kish.
22Eleazar died without having any sons. All he had was daughters. They married their cousins. The cousins were the sons of Kish.
23The sons of Mushi were
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. The total number of sons was three.
24Those were the family lines of Levi. They were recorded under the names of the family leaders. Each worker who was 20 years old or more was counted. They served in the Lord’s temple. 25David had said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He has given peace and rest to his people. He has come to Jerusalem to live there forever. 26So the Levites don’t need to carry the holy tent anymore. They don’t need to carry any of its objects anymore. Those were the things that were used to serve there.” 27The Levites who were 20 years old or more were counted. That was in keeping with David’s final directions.
28The Levites had the duty of helping the members of Aaron’s family line. They helped them serve in the Lord’s temple. They were in charge of the courtyards and the side rooms. They made all the sacred things pure and “clean.” They also had other duties at the house of God. 29They were in charge of setting the holy bread out on the table. They prepared the special flour for the grain offerings. They made the thin loaves without using any yeast. They did the baking and the mixing. They measured the amount and size of everything. 30They stood every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They did the same thing every evening. 31They also did it every time burnt offerings were brought to the Lord. Those offerings were brought every Sabbath day. They were also brought at every New Moon feast and during the appointed yearly feasts. The Levites served in front of the Lord at regular times. The proper number of Levites was always used when they served. They served in the way the law required.
32So the Levites carried out their duties for the tent of meeting and for the Holy Room. They worked under their relatives who were in the family line of Aaron. They helped them serve at the Lord’s temple.
