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.
利未人的职务
1大卫年纪老迈，寿数将尽，就立他儿子所罗门为以色列王。 2他召集了以色列的众首领、祭司和利未人。 3凡三十岁以上的利未人都在统计之列，共有三万八千男子， 4其中有两万四千人在耶和华的殿里司职，六千人做官长和审判官， 5四千人守门，四千人用大卫提供的乐器颂赞耶和华。 6大卫将利未人革顺、哥辖和米拉利的子孙分成班次。
7革顺的儿子有拉但和示每。 8拉但有长子耶歇，还有细坦和约珥，共三个儿子， 9都是拉但族的族长。示每的儿子有示罗密、哈薛和哈兰三人。 10示每的儿子还有雅哈、细拿、耶乌施和比利亚四人。 11雅哈是长子，细拿是次子。耶乌施和比利亚的子孙不多，所以合为一族。
12哥辖有暗兰、以斯哈、希伯仑、乌薛四个儿子。 13暗兰的儿子是亚伦和摩西。亚伦和他的子孙永远被分别出来事奉耶和华，向祂献至圣之物，在祂面前烧香，奉祂的名祝福，直到永远。 14上帝的仆人摩西的子孙归在利未支派的名下。 15摩西的儿子是革舜和以利以谢。 16革舜的长子是细布业。 17以利以谢只有一个儿子利哈比雅，但利哈比雅子孙众多。 18以斯哈的长子是示罗密。 19希伯仑的长子是耶利雅，次子是亚玛利亚，三子是雅哈悉，四子是耶加缅。 20乌薛的长子是米迦，次子是耶西雅。
21米拉利的儿子是抹利、姆示。抹利的儿子是以利亚撒、基士。 22以利亚撒终生没有儿子，只有女儿，同族人基士的儿子娶了她们为妻。 23姆示的三个儿子是末力、以得和耶利摩。 24以上是利未各宗族的子孙，他们登记在各自族长的名下，凡二十岁以上的男子都在耶和华的殿里任职。 25大卫说：“以色列的上帝耶和华已使祂的子民安享太平，祂永远住在耶路撒冷。 26利未人再不用抬圣幕和其中的器皿了。” 27按照大卫临终时的嘱咐，二十岁以上的利未人都已被统计。 28他们的任务是帮助亚伦的子孙在耶和华的殿里司职，管理殿的院子和厢房，负责洁净圣物等事务。 29他们还负责供饼、做素祭的细面粉、无酵薄饼的调和、烤制、分量和尺寸。 30他们每天早晚要肃立、颂赞耶和华， 31每逢安息日、朔日23:31 “朔日”即每月初一。或其他节期，他们要按照规定的数目将燔祭献给耶和华， 32并负责看守会幕和圣所，帮助他们的亲族——亚伦的子孙在耶和华的殿里供职。
